Burn Notice2007

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]