Burn Notice Quotes
[Michael is undercover when his male mark approaches him.]
Michael: Friend, you're ruinin' my ratio. I have a good ratio goin' on, I got four ladies to one Davis. Four-to-one, I like that.
Michael: Friend, you're ruinin' my ratio. I have a good ratio goin' on, I got four ladies to one Davis. Four-to-one, I like that.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Waseem: [quoting from Michael's note] "I will be wearing a white shirt and..." [laughs] This word right here? It is a kind of... spicy goat cheese.
Michael: I was trying to say "black pants". My Urdu's a little rusty.
Waseem: At least you got the name of the restaurant right.
Michael: I was trying to say "black pants". My Urdu's a little rusty.
Waseem: At least you got the name of the restaurant right.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] To win a negotiation you have to show you're willing to walk away. And the best way to show you're willing to walk away... is to walk away.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael Westen: [V.O.] Get your hands on any classified document worth having, chances are it's going to be redacted, which makes reading it a lot like watching a movie on an airplane: all the juicy parts are missing but you still get the basic idea.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Madeline Westen: Do you know what his first word was? It was "Michael".
Michael: It was "juice"; I was there, his first word was "juice".
Madeline: True, but he was looking at you when he said it.
Michael: It was "juice"; I was there, his first word was "juice".
Madeline: True, but he was looking at you when he said it.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Sam Axe: "Daddy"?
Fiona Glenanne: Bet you never thought you'd hear me call you that.
Fiona Glenanne: Bet you never thought you'd hear me call you that.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] One of the hardest things to do in a fight is to make it look like you're trying to kill someone without doing any permanent damage. They don't teach any half-moves in combat training. There are moves designed to kill and maim as efficiently as possible. If those are off limits, one option is open your fist right before a punch lands. Painful, but the force is distributed. Another showy option is a kick to the shoulder. You might break a rib or two; but if you aim right, nobody is going to the morgue.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] A fight is one of the quickest ways to tell if someone isn't who they say they are. If you say you are Russian but fight like an American, consider your cover blown, which means you better know Sambo, the mixed martial art of Russia. Of course, you also have to win the fight; a great cover ID doesn't help much if you're dead.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael Westen: [V.O.] A criminal cover ID isn't just about a new name and phone number; it's about fitting into a culture with its own rules and hierarchies. It's a world where bank robbers are the rock stars, con artists are the snobs, car thieves are the blue-collar guys, and safecrackers are the artists.
TV Show: Burn Notice
[Veronica asked Sam to marry her and Sam seeks Michael for advice.]
Michael: Do you love her?
Sam Axe: She could be the one.
Michael: Then say yes.
Sam: It's complicated.
Michael: [slowly] Then say no.
Sam: [sarcastically] You're a good friend, Mike.
Michael: Do you love her?
Sam Axe: She could be the one.
Michael: Then say yes.
Sam: It's complicated.
Michael: [slowly] Then say no.
Sam: [sarcastically] You're a good friend, Mike.
TV Show: Burn Notice
[To escape detection by a security guard, Michael clings to the edge of a rooftop]
Michael: [V.O.] Making yourself invisible when you need to is a crucial skill for a covert operative; it sounds exotic but it's not like there's a super-secret move they teach you at spy school that allows you to vanish into thin air. Often it's just a matter of quick thinking, fast feet, and strong fingers.
Michael: [V.O.] Making yourself invisible when you need to is a crucial skill for a covert operative; it sounds exotic but it's not like there's a super-secret move they teach you at spy school that allows you to vanish into thin air. Often it's just a matter of quick thinking, fast feet, and strong fingers.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Tailing a trained operative requires a number of time consuming preparations: everything from acquiring a vehicle they can't recognize or trace to familiarizing yourself with all the local traffic patterns. Of course, since you can never be sure who's a trained op, there's always the chance you'll take all those precautions just to follow a secretary back to her cubicle.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] When you work in intelligence, there's no bigger slap in the face than a picture of yourself in the middle of an operation. It's send a clear message: we're one step ahead of you; we're in control; we own you. Mylar balloons and a bottle of champaigne, that's just twisting the knife.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael Westen: [V.O.] The interior locks in an office suite are usually low-end; just there to keep white-collar workers from stealing coffee cups. File cabinet locking bars, on the other hand, are a more serious security measure. Their main vulnerability is that they depend on people's faith in padlocks. People have too much faith in padlocks.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Madeline Westen: Uh, Sam, didn't you forget something? [Madeline hands him a number of bullets] I found them in your pants. I heard them rattling around in the washing machine when I was doing your laundry.
Sam: Yeah, 9 mm. Uh, hey, err, I don't know what to say.
Michael: I'd say nothing. Nothing's good. Go with nothing.
Sam: Yeah, 9 mm. Uh, hey, err, I don't know what to say.
Michael: I'd say nothing. Nothing's good. Go with nothing.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Sometimes, when you meet a new operative, it's a good idea to open with an aggressive move. You learn about people when you make them play defense: their reflexes, weaknesses, how they handle themselves under pressure. And even if they are able to counter, it never hurts to know how far they're willing to go.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] When meeting a covert operative for the first time, the arrangements can tell you a lot: if they give you a map and a photo, they trust you; a place and a time, they want to check you out before they make contact; a cryptic clue like "tidy pelican", they've just got an irritating sense of humor.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Victor the Wrangler: I don't like your field tactics.
Michael: I don't like your whining. Are you gonna pout all night?
Michael: I don't like your whining. Are you gonna pout all night?
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Dealing with a trained operative is like playing chess with a master. Dealing with criminals, on the other hand, is like playing checkers with a three-year-old: they like to change the rules.
TV Show: Burn Notice
[Sam and Virgil, Michael's houseguest, are talking to Michael on the phone.]
Virgil: Listen, I didn't pack enough underwear, so I borrowed a set of your boxers: the blue ones with the stripes.
Michael: They will never fit you; stay out of my closet.
Virgil: They're a little snug down under, but I got all packed in. 'Preciate it.
Sam Axe: Mike, be glad you didn't have to see that.
Virgil: Listen, I didn't pack enough underwear, so I borrowed a set of your boxers: the blue ones with the stripes.
Michael: They will never fit you; stay out of my closet.
Virgil: They're a little snug down under, but I got all packed in. 'Preciate it.
Sam Axe: Mike, be glad you didn't have to see that.
TV Show: Burn Notice
[Michael stops a soccer ball headed in his direction.]
Boy: Kick it! Kick it!
[Michael kicks the ball towards the boy.]
Marcela: Hey, no ball on the sidewalk.
Michael: He started it.
Boy: Kick it! Kick it!
[Michael kicks the ball towards the boy.]
Marcela: Hey, no ball on the sidewalk.
Michael: He started it.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: Right now, I've got to do a job.....with Larry.
Sam: Larry? Dead Larry? [laughing] Oh, man, I hated that guy!
Michael: He's back.
Sam: Ok, I hate him present tense. He's a bad influence Mike, don't tell me you're working with him?
Michael: I'm not working with him, I'm working against him.
Sam: Well in that case, can I help?
Sam: Larry? Dead Larry? [laughing] Oh, man, I hated that guy!
Michael: He's back.
Sam: Ok, I hate him present tense. He's a bad influence Mike, don't tell me you're working with him?
Michael: I'm not working with him, I'm working against him.
Sam: Well in that case, can I help?
TV Show: Burn Notice
[Larry, an ex-spy, calls to check in with Michael.]
Sam Axe: [about Larry] Just "checking in"? He's got a weird thing for you.
Michael: It's because he doesn't have any friends.
Sam: That's because he killed most of them, Mike.
Sam Axe: [about Larry] Just "checking in"? He's got a weird thing for you.
Michael: It's because he doesn't have any friends.
Sam: That's because he killed most of them, Mike.
TV Show: Burn Notice
[Michael and Campbell, Fiona's boyfriend, are meeting for the first time.]
Campbell: Fiona tells me you're a soil scientist.
Michael: Yes, yes, I love my dirt.
Campbell: Fiona tells me you're a soil scientist.
Michael: Yes, yes, I love my dirt.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Therapist: And that's why I like to say that trust is a bridge, and it needs a strong foundation, and you can't build a bridge out of pain and fear, can you? [He nudges Michael awake.] Can you, Michael?
Michael: [sleepily] Uh, no, because that would make it, um, structurally unsound.
Michael: [sleepily] Uh, no, because that would make it, um, structurally unsound.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Spend a career in covert ops and you're going to know some bad people. You'll work with them, you'll live with them, you might even trust your life with them. But none of that makes them your friend. It can't. Because one day, you might have to end them.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Spies make great neighbors; they're polite, they keep the lawn trim, and they never crank up the music at night. They don't stand out, because they don't want to be found. So if you're hunting for a covert operative and all you've got to go on are the names of a few dozen suspects, you're out of luck... unless you know where to look.
TV Show: Burn Notice
Michael: [V.O.] Surveillance is the leading cause of weight gain among operatives.
TV Show: Burn Notice