Burn Notice, Season 5

Fiona:
How was the job?

Michael:
The job was good.

Fiona:
I missed you.

Michael:
Yeah, I got that. I think you broke a rib.

Max:
Is this seriously the way you do things?

Michael:
When I have to.

Max:
How are you still alive?

Michael:
That's a good question. [fires three shots] I eat a lot of yogurt.

Fiona:
When you got burned, it wasn't just you. These last four years have been hard on all of us.

Michael:
I know. I know, and I'm really sorry about that, but we are so close to wrapping this up and then I can move on.

Fiona:
I hope you find what you're looking for, Michael. I really do. Then we can all move on.

Realtor:
Where did your friend go?

Fiona:
Oh, I'm afraid we haven't quite captured his attention today, but this isn't for him. It's for me. So maybe you and I can meet again Monday?

Realtor:
Oh, no problem. You know and don't worry, lots of men don't really focus until it's time to negotiate.

Fiona:
Yeah, well, that man doesn't focus unless an international conspiracy is threatening to ruin his life.

[Michael has just shouted at Madeleine and threatened her for the benefit of their mark]

Michael:
I had to upset you. I didn't know how else to do it.

Madeleine:
I know. It's just--I hadn't seen that in a long time.

Fiona:
Seen what?

Madeleine:
Nothing. I'll be alright, I just need a minute.

[She leaves the room.]

Fiona:
What was she talking about, Michael?

Michael:
It's not something I want to talk about right now, Fi.

Sam:
He's gonna have to shove you around, maybe tear your shirt a little--

Madeleine:
Tear my shirt? Why don't you just hit me?

Michael:
I'm not going to hit you, Mom!

Madeleine:
Michael, it's not like I've never been hit before.

Michael:
[after a long moment] Turn your face away when you feel the impact. It'll distribute the force. But it'll still hurt.

Madeleine:
I know.

Michael:
[voice-over] As a spy, you get used to people having whispered conversations about you. It's a little like being in high school. But when people are whispering about you in algebra they're a lot less likely to try and kill you afterward.

Fiona:
Hoping to scare off that lone-shark with your shirt?!

Michael:
It's part of the Nate Westen collection. It won't get into my regular rotation, I promise.

Fiona:
I should hope not.

Michael:
[voice-over] People tend to think spies are motivated by love of the game, desire for adventure or patriotic fervor. The truth though, is that you don't choose a life as a covert operative unless something deeper is going on beneath the surface. Something more personal, something harder to explain and something a lot more painful.

Michael:
We rip off Carmelo and leave Sam behind as a witness to the heist. He questions him. [to Sam] You steer him towards the Serbs. We play it right he hunts for his heroin and finds our drone instead.

Fiona:
And if we don't play it right, we find out if Sam is bulletproof.

Fiona:
[during stakeout] We've been here two days, Sam. Face it, this guy is not calling the shots. He has Christmas lights hanging in July. He may look a little bit like Michael, but there is no way he's capable of killing a CIA officer and setting Michael up for it.

Sam:
Yeah, well, I don't think he's capable of setting a table. Yesterday, I found a brochure about raising Alpacas for profit in his trash.

Fiona:
So let's scrap this cloak and dagger and go have a little chat. I'm wearing my door-kicking Jimmy Choos.

Jesse:
How many bangers we got inside?

Fiona:
Three. Shouldn't be too hard for me to sneak past them.

Jesse:
Hmm. Uh-huh, or, you know, I could go in and you could stay out here, because --

Fiona:
If you're about to say because I'm a woman, I'm going to knock your teeth down your throat.

Michael:
We're going on a boat ride with this guy? I thought it was just lunch.

Madeline:
This guy's name is Ben. And it's not just any boat. It's the new glass-bottom boat that they're running out of Coconut Grove.

Fiona:
Go easy on him, Madeline. He still doesn't know that some couples do things besides fight multinational conspiracies.

Agent Pearce:
You must be Fiona. I read your file, and as an employee of the U.S. government I'm probably not supposed to say this, but wow.

Fiona:
Thanks. Michael told me almost everything about you.

Agent Pearce:
Oh, well, I hope he was discreet.

Fiona:
When it comes to his work, Michael takes discretion to a whole new level.

Agent Pearce:
[referring to Michael's plan] That is, bar none, the craziest play I have ever heard in the field.

Jesse:
Well, you don't hang out with him enough.

Armand:
Lovely evening for an arms deal.

Fiona:
I want my information first.

Armand:
You know I always deliver. We're alike that way.

Fiona:
What's that supposed to mean?

Armand:
Tell me something. Are you happy? Was it worth it? Coming here to live with an absentee boyfriend in his drab little flat? You were meant for much, much greater things.

Fiona:
Like what? Working with you? No, thanks.

Fiona:
How was your mission?

Michael:
It was rough. I mean, it worked out.

Fiona:
But you can't talk about it. Whatever. [slides a piece of paper his way] The lead on your bomber.

Michael:
How did the job go?

Fiona:
Does it matter? You got what you needed.

Michael:
Fi, did something happen with Armand?

Fiona:
Oh, now you're full of questions. A lot happened with Armand, years ago back in Ireland in the bad old days.

Michael:
Were you and he --

Fiona:
Yes, we were, Michael. Until I found out that he had paid to meet me by doing a favor for some of my associates. He killed a British customs agent, if you're curious. Quite a romantic gesture, don't you think?

Michael:
I didn't know that, Fiona.

Fiona:
No, you didn't. Ignorance is bliss.

Fiona:
Do you know what kind of girlfriend drives all the way to Tallahassee to search a crusty old man's equally crusty apartment?

Michael:
A good girlfriend!

Fiona:
A great girlfriend. The kind of girlfriend that deserves dinner at The Forge.

Michael:
Point taken. How about two dinners?

Fiona:
[twirls in her new dress] How does the discretionary fund look?

Michael:
Expensive.

Michael:
Shall we tango?

Fiona:
Let's.

Michael:
Can I lead?

Fiona:
Fine. Just this once.

Michael:
They got you too?

Fiona:
[lifts handcuffed wrists] Picked me up at the bridge. I heard what was going on and asked if I could say goodbye in case --

Michael:
Hey, an hour ago I was on my way to jail for the rest of my life. How much worse is this really?

Fiona:
The man is ruthless! He killed one of his own people to avoid capture. You won't even have a gun!

Michael:
The only way I'm going to get out of this is if I get Tavian to talk. I can't ask anyone else to risk their life for this.

Fiona:
Michael, come back to me.

Michael:
[voice-over] For a spy, finding out you've been compromised, that someone has something on you, is the ultimate nightmare. The worst part for someone who has spent a career training for every situation is knowing that there is nothing you can do but grit your teeth and try to find out exactly how bad the nightmare is going to be.

Michael:
[voice-over] For a spy, the worst thing that can happen is to become someone else's asset. You do anything you can to avoid it, making sure there's nothing people can grab onto and use as leverage. You move through life unattached, keeping the world at a distance. It's a hard way to live, but there's a cold logic to it. Love nothing, and nothing you love can be used against you. Once you violate that rule and make that connection with someone, you've handed your enemies the key to destroying you.

Fiona:
Forget it. I don't think you should do anything for that parasite.

Michael:
I don't think I have a choice.

Fiona:
Of course you have a choice! You can say no. You can tell the C.I.A. all about Anson and --

Michael:
And watch you go to jail for the rest of your life for something you didn't do? I can't do that, Fi.

Michael:
Well, Oswald sure knows how to stay protected. I count four armed guards covering just the rear of the compound.

Fiona:
Michael, are you sure you want to do this now? We could wait and see what Sam and Jesse find. I mean, if I'm past saving, what's the point?

Michael:
We have to assume we can get you out of this.

Fiona:
What if we can't?

Michael:
I've been past saving before, Fi. You didn't walk away and I'm not going to.

Fiona:
Well, that's terribly romantic, Michael, but we don't have the numbers or the firepower to get past those guards.

Michael:
Maybe we can get around them. If you set a diversion out front, I can make an approach from the water, grab Oswald before anyone knows I'm there. Please, Fi.

Fiona:
Don't look at me like that! It's unsettling when you're that sincere! Fine, yes! I'll get the guns. [walks away in a huff]

Michael:
[voice-over] For a spy, loyalty is a strange thing. Your job is to deceive, to live among your enemies, to perform dark deeds for a noble purpose. And it's that purpose that guides you through the darkness. When you lose sight of that, the darkness is all there is.

Michael:
Sometimes betrayal is as easy as pushing a button. The hard part is being able to live with yourself after you've done it.

Michael:
[voice-over] There's nothing quite like searching the home of someone you care about for evidence they've betrayed you. It's something spies have to do regularly, even with the people they love the most. It's never easy searching for something as hard as you can and praying you find nothing at all.

Fiona:
I should disappear. You'll be able to bring Anson down.

Michael:
And you'd keep running for the rest of your life. Not after all this. I am not losing you, Fi.

Michael:
What do you want? What do you want me to say, Fi? I'm doing this for you.

Fiona:
Stop. Just stop. There has to be a line.

Michael:
There is no line when it comes to you!

Fiona:
I can't do this anymore. We can't do this. Let's just go. We'll go to the FBI, and I'll turn myself in. I'll make them understand.

Michael:
They won't understand us. We start down that road, we can't come back. And I'll lose you. And I can't lose you.

Fiona:
[in goodbye letter] Even before I knew your real name, I loved you. Before I should have, I trusted you. Because I've always known your heart. You do what's right, no matter the cost to you. And I've learned that when you love a spy, you have to be willing to make that sacrifice, too. At times, your job has made it hard to be with you, but it's never shaken my faith in you. I can't let you ruin anyone's life to save mine. I have to force you to tell what you know. If you don't, you won't be the man I love. Do the right thing. I love you, Michael. Forever.