Burn Notice (TV Series)

Army of One (2011)

Jeffrey Donovan: Michael Westen

Photos 

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  In any search and capture operation, you have to balance speed against planning. Once you locate your target, you have a hard choice to make. Take too much time planning and your target gets away. Take too little time planning and you get yourself killed.

• Michael Westen : Next. Come on.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  The ironic thing about infiltrating a group of criminals is that the only way to successfully be accepted...

  Michael Westen : Next.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  is to actually be helpful.

  Stan : Stan Werner.

  Michael Westen : Have a seat. Next. Next.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  If you're useless or lazy, you'll probably wind up getting shot.

  Michael Westen : Good. Sit down. Next.

  Judy : J-J-Judy - J-Judy - Judy...

  Michael Westen : Come on. Spit your name out! Come on!

  Judy : [handing over I.D]  Judy Eppleb-b-bee.

  Michael Westen : [enters "Epplebee, Judy" and checks it off below "Werner, Stan" and "Hogan, Ryan"]  Okay. Thanks.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  You have to be the best little worker you can be...

  Michael Westen : Sit d- Get her to sit down.

  Michael Westen : [narrative]  all to give yourself room to look for the best opportunity to destroy the people you're working for.

  Michael Westen : [to Madeline]  Hey! Blondie! Yeah. With the spiked hair. Come here! Yeah, you! See anybody else spiky and blonde? Show me some I.D.

  Madeline Westen : [sotto voce]  What the hell is going on, Michael? Tell me you have a plan.

  Michael Westen : [sotto voce]  I do, but I'm gonna need your help.

  Madeline Westen : [scoffs]  What a surprise.

  Michael Westen : [loudly]  Okay, smart lady, you're going to have a job. You're gonna keep everyone in that room calm. You think you can do that?

  Madeline Westen : [with insulted defiance]  I think I can do that.

  Michael Westen : Good. Go sit down. Get her to go sit down. Come on. Move it along.

  Michael Westen : [with Landes distracted, Michael types in "Marsden, Jack"]  Next. Wait. Hold on. Where are the guys? I need a guy. I need a "Jack Marsden".

  Landes : Jack Marsden? There's no other guys in here.

  Michael Westen : Damn it. Gentlemen, we've got a problem.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  To improvise a weapon, you have to understand the basic principle behind whatever you're making. A gun, for example, is just a barrel and a firing pin, while a time-delay bomb can be as simple as a corrosive chemical, an oxidizing agent, and something to keep them from mixing together long enough so you don't blow your hands off.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Most commercial security systems use magnetic sensors. When a door opens, it breaks an electrical circuit and triggers the alarm. Which means defeating the system is just a matter of keeping a magnet in contact with the sensor. Unfortunately, very security-conscious people often customize systems with less-visible sensors... like a pressure plate in the floor that silently announces your presence and gives whoever's inside a chance to do something about it.

• Jesse Porter : Look, Mike, I appreciate you filling in for Sam on this job. I really do. I just got to ask you, are you sure this is a good time for you to be taking freelance work?

  Michael Westen : Well, the way I see it, Sam's got his hands full, and you need the help.

  Jesse Porter : Yeah, and your CIA contact is like this close to discovering you've been lying to her.

  Michael Westen : All the more reason for me to stay busy and out of her way. Just tell me what the job is.

  Jesse Porter : It's a- it's a corporate-security gig. Client's name is Richard Gronbach, billionaire. He owns fast-food joints and big-box stores. Some industrial-espionage types have been targeting him.

  Michael Westen : Do we know what they're after?

  Jesse Porter : No. No. That's what we have to find out. I got in with them posing as a middleman for stolen financial data. The other day, they asked me if I know a decryption guy who could do a quick job. Enter Michael Westen, a.k.a. Matt Graham. They're meeting at a private airport that Gronbach uses up north. They want to hack some airport computers.

  Michael Westen : I think I can handle that.

  Jesse Porter : [nervously]  There's one more little- little thing. Uh, I needed someone to take some surveillance photos in the parking lot. Only problem is, all my guys look like FBI agents. So, I figured no one would notice, like, a...

  Jesse Porter : [clears throat]  you know, like a 60ish-year-old woman sitting in a car.

  Michael Westen : You called my mom.

  Jesse Porter : I'll call her and tell her it's a no-go. It's - I...

  Michael Westen : Just tell me it's safe.

  Jesse Porter : They're white-collar guys, Mike. It's a cakewalk. It's just somethin' to keep your mind off things while Sam and Fi deal with your CIA problem.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Businesses often use independent contractors on jobs to contain costs and limit liability. Criminals do the same thing for similar reasons. Someone who just joined the team won't expect an equal cut of whatever you're stealing, and if they don't know your plans, they can't go to the cops.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  There's nothing quite like the feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you begin to suspect your intelligence on an operation may have been wrong. Once you're in, though, there's not much you can do but keep your eyes open and figure out just how bad the situation is.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  There's a cold-math to hostage taking. Once someone dies, things get worse quickly. Because the penalty for killing one hostage is pretty much the same as the penalty for killing all of them, the key is keeping that first person alive, even if you have to bruise a few ribs to do it.

  [during this narrative, Ward takes Madeline hostage outside and Michael disarms a second, elderly guard] 

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  If you need to redirect a airplane mid-flight and you can't get to the airport, your best bet is probably the local TRACON relay station. Responsible for guiding aircraft until airport traffic control takes over, their job is to keep anything bad from happening mid-flight. Fortunately, their job is also to be nervous, so it doesn't take much to spook them.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Anyone who's used a cellphone near an alarm clock knows even minor interference disrupts radio signals. So if radio silence is your goal, you can create an electromagnet by running the current from your car's electrical system through a tire iron wrapped with copper speaker wiring. It's hard on your car's audio system, but it's a small price to pay for staying out of prison.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Wool or silk ties are considered higher quality than the polyester variety. Polyester ties do have certain advantages, however: they're less expensive and considerably more flammable than natural fibers, making them the tie of choice to ignite a gas tank.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  In any kind of sabotage operation, the most important thing is keeping your enemy thinking you're on his side. That means selling your story by any means necessary. While it may be painful and unpleasant, nothing sells loyalty like shedding a little blood for the cause.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  When you need to get into a facility guarded by police, you have three options: you can go through them - not an option if you don't want a body count; you can go around them, which is is tough if there's a full surveillance team; or you can give them a reason to leave.

• Madeline Westen : Michael, what are you doin'?

  Michael Westen : Putting blood on my shirt.

  Madeline Westen : Well, that can't be very sanitary.

  Michael Westen : Ma, I need to look like I've been fatally wounded. I'd rather not do it with a real bullet.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  In trench warfare, a common practice is to dig a hole called a grenade sump. It works on a simple principle: when a grenade falls into your trench, you kick it into a deeper hole, which directs the force of the grenade upward. The same idea can work aboveground with large pieces of furniture.

• Jesse Porter : I know. I know. I owe you and your mom more than a thank-you on this one.

  Michael Westen : A new tie would be nice.

• [last lines] 

  Michael Westen : Any progress?

  Agent Pearce : Haven't found anything yet.

  Agent Pearce : [sighs]  But now that we're chasing down this Romanian lead, I think it's just a matter of time before we find Max's killer. You know the first thing I do when I start an investigation? Put the victim's next of kin's number at the top of my speed dial. I- it's...

  Agent Pearce : [shows Michael phone]  That's Max's wife's. I look at it every day, and I think about the day I'll be able to call and say, "We got the bastard." That day is close, Michael. And you will have been a part of that.

  Michael Westen : [flashback]  We have to get rid of the gun.

  Fiona Glenanne : [flashback]  You are taking big risks.

  Michael Westen : [flashback]  I covered my tracks, so I covered the tracks of the killer.

  Michael Westen : I can always do more.

  Michael Westen : [picking up his box of files]  Are you sure you don't want me to take another look at this stuff? Now you have two crime scenes to process and a whole network of Romanians to run down.

  Agent Pearce : Thanks, but I've got three times the manpower working the case now. I just need that one last piece, Michael.

  Agent Pearce : [takes the box]  And maybe it's in this box.

• Michael Westen : [narrative]  Criminals often keep safehouses to fall back to in case things go wrong with everything they need to get to safety. They know that once they get there, they can relax and let their guard down a little, which makes it a perfect place to send the cops after them.