Burn Notice s01e07 Episode Script

Broken Rules

My name is Michael Westen.
I used to be a spy until We got a burn notice.
you're blacklisted.
when you're burned, you've got nothing no cash, no credit, no job history.
you're stuck in whatever city they decide to dump you in.
- Where am I? - Miami.
you do whatever work Comes your way.
you rely on anyone Who's still talking to you.
a trigger-happy Ex-girlfriend Should we shoot them? An old friend who's Informing on you to the FBI You know spies A bunch of bitchy little girls.
Family, too Is that your mom again? If you're desperate.
Someone needs your help.
bottom line Until You figure out who burned you, you're not going anywhere.
for anyone who works In covert ops, names have a special power.
knowing someone's real name, Who they work for, you've got something on them.
out a spy in the field, And you can get him killed.
out a bureaucrat In a restaurant Jason? Jason Bly? And you'll just Piss him off.
Good to see you.
I figured you'd find me Sooner or later.
Everyone! Everyone, this is officer Jason Bly of the css.
It is a branch of the NSA, Performing covert intelligence Support for the military.
All right, that's enough.
You think so? I was gonna go into The history of the service, Give people Some background.
Not a bad picture.
I take terrible photo I.
D.
's.
One of the reasons why I never worked for any Service branch directly.
I suppose you think That you're gonna be able To leverage Stealing my agency I.
D.
card Into a ticket off the blacklist? No, I just wanted To get to know you better.
Well, i've been getting to know You and your friends Sam axe, Fiona Glenanne, Your mother.
Oh, Bly, I thought I told you.
6 This is just between you and me.
See, I don't think so.
Adjusting to your circumstances Is a process.
It's natural for there to be Some grieving, some anger Some denial.
Involving your friends and family's An important part of adjusting.
For example, your girlfriend, Fiona.
She's not my girlfriend.
Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
On again, off again.
That is a complicated Relationship.
I've been listening To the surveillance tapes You know, I think Well, I think both of you Have issues.
One man's opinion.
That's true.
She is coming here to meet you, Isn't she? If my information's correct, She should be here shortly.
Oh, hey.
There she is.
Mike, she is a really Fine-looking girl.
She does take risks, though, Doesn't she? That car was stolen Three weeks ago.
Have you looked inside the trunk? Seems that she's been doing Some gun dealing.
Yeah.
She can take care of herself.
No.
You should talk to her.
You should talk to her, Because if she gets caught, You may never be able to resolve Those thorny relationship issues.
Oh.
You should get going.
Hey, i'll get the check.
Go.
Go! Michael, what? Bly set you up.
Do you have guns In the trunk? Fi? A few semiautomatics, yeah.
I got a deal, Michael.
This guy was selling Browning .
9 millimeters For 200 bucks apiece.
You have unregistered weapons In a stolen car, Fi! You know, You have always had a problem With my work.
I have always supported you.
I'm helping people, You're running guns! Big difference.
Is the car at least clean? Good.
the longer you run From the police, the more certain you are To get caught.
there's a small window of time After a chase begins before backup arrives, before helicopters Are deployed.
if you want any chance Of getting away, you'd best use this time To find someplace secluded Here, here.
And bail out.
See you back at the loft? Oh, here he is now.
I'll talk to you later.
Your mom says, "hi.
" How did you get here so fast? Oh, I got a ride From a pleasant retired Gentleman named Hubert.
He was concerned for my safety.
Let me get this straight.
I was set up by Bly? Revenge for stealing his wallet? He wasn't gonna send you to jail.
Too much paperwork.
He knew I'd save you.
Save me? I don't need saving.
The point is, It was a message for me To shut up and accept That i've been burned for good Or my friends and family Are fair game.
I see.
Just curious Which am I? Can we discuss this later? So once Bly gets taken care of, We can discuss our relationship? Sure.
I don't suppose killing him Would expedite that? No, Fi, no.
He's the best connection I have.
He can tell me why I was burned, Who did this to me.
I need to get some leverage.
If I got to go to war with Bly, I got to put some cash together.
These guys come down And make me give them money Every couple of days.
At first, they said It was for protection.
Now they don't even bother to lie.
they work for this bruja, Concha ramirez.
She's got guys all around here.
A woman boss.
How progressive.
Listen, pretty soon, I can't be in business no more.
I talked to my friend Javier.
you helped him with that cabrón That came after his kid.
And asked him not To talk about it, yeah.
What exactly are you looking for? I got 20 grand.
I want them out of the neighborhood.
No, I want them gone.
These guys work for this woman, Concha.
It sounds like an organization.
Javier said you could handle it.
Aw, I'm flattered, but They're ruining The neighborhood, okay? People who lived on this block Their whole lives Are losing everything.
My pops built this place.
I ain't giving up without a fight.
Have you tried Talking to the police? They come, give me paperwork, And go back to coral gables.
I try to get the neighborhood to Fight, but they're scared.
We got families.
I need your help.
The rest after.
I'll see what I can do.
Don't "i'll see what I can do.
" Do it.
You're the last chance we got.
Okay.
Yeah, Sam? Hey, Mike.
We got a situation here.
Your buddy Bly talked to my Girlfriend, and she's pissed.
Hi, honey.
She hit me with one of those Meat tenderizers.
Sam, get in here! Okay, honey.
Just a minute.
Do you want an extraction team? I'll let you know.
What about Bly? The son of a bitch is doing Scorched-earth number here.
I'm taking care of it.
See if you can get out in one piece.
Yeah.
Sweetie, hey.
Easy now.
Come on.
A CIA agent came into my home.
Look, it wasn't CIA, it was CSS.
It's a branch of The national security agency.
He told me you were seeing That whore in bal harbour.
I was just going To get my clothes.
It's over, pumpkin.
Oh! Mike, this is some serious Collateral damage.
I mean, I like this girl.
We got to do something.
I know.
I know.
I think this will be enough cash To take care of Bly, Maybe even find out Why I was burned.
What, are you gonna Throw money at him? Something like that.
I'll work out the details.
You know anything About this gang? They work for a cuban émigré Named Concha Ramirez.
She works out of a restaurant On Miami beach.
I don't know.
Organized crime Is a pain in the ass.
There's a reason I didn't become a FED.
We just need them to decide The neighborhood's not worth The trouble and move on.
Scare the hell out of them.
Sounds like fun.
Let's do the recon, Check out her soldiers, Take a look at Concha, And see what we're dealing with.
Here you go, Sam.
Buy your girlfriend Some flowers.
Oh, Mike, it's gonna take More than flowers.
I mean, she's pretty pissed.
This Bly was rude I mean, really rude.
She's feeling a little better now.
Okay, perfect.
Thanks.
I'll get the check.
When you gonna get a real car? This thing's like a toy.
Veronica was gonna get me a cadillac Until Mike's surveillance guy Screwed everything up.
A cadillac? What could you possibly be doing To these women? Wouldn't you like to know? There she is.
Wow.
Not bad for a crime boss.
dice que no puede pagar.
Que tiene un chiquito enfermo.
¿com\an no puede pagar? ¿porqu\ t? Me traes esto? mira, si él no puede pagar Díle, pregúntale a la esposa, "¿si tienes el seguro De la vida?" porqu\ t Mira, yo te di ésto Usalo.
¿porqu\ t me traes \sto?i> vaya.
Get in there.
in intelligence work, surveillance Is called "coverage.
" it's like basketball you can run zone defense Or man-to-man.
man-to-man's risky.
follow someone too long, they're going to get Suspicious.
zone is usually the way to go.
stay put and let targets Come to you.
less obvious, Easier on the feet And you can catch up On your celebrity gossip.
Charo.
Mira que yo tengo para t^.
No saque es aqu^.
no habla.
Entrale, entra.
They're leaning hard On the neighborhood.
Bad business Driving away People who are paying you off.
So they're amateurs.
That'll make it easier To get rid of them.
I'm not sure it was a good idea To give Sam the caf? Three cuban coffees in, His camerawork Gets kind of jittery.
It's not the coffee.
He has lady-friend problems.
You know, I have to say, Sam's romantic side is surprising.
Not now, Fi.
I'm talking about sam.
And you're going to use Sam As a way to talk about us.
After.
All right? All right.
But I promise you, If I'm not satisfied, Then I am gonna kick your ass.
explaining the rules Of covert ops is always a challenge.
it's a world where good guys Look like bad guys and two wrongs do, in fact, Make a right.
I got to bust up your counter.
You want to smash up my counter? And a few other things.
It's part of the plan, Ernie.
No, I already got enough people Who want to smash up my place.
I don't need anymore.
The only way this ends Is if these guys think They're up against somebody Worse than they are.
I thought you were supposed To protect the neighborhood.
If I act like a security guard, They're just gonna send more guys.
My friend said you could fight.
He said you were, you know, Special forces.
Bullets don't bounce off My skin, Ernie.
I'm gonna solve this, But I got to do it my way.
And, Ernie, Ernie, look.
I need your help.
What do you want me to do? I need you to spread the word That some serious psycho Robbed your place.
And please, please, Keep your mouth shut About hiring me, Or you'll get us both killed, You understand? There's no turning back, Ernie, After I do this.
If you want to walk away, Now's the time.
I don't walk away.
Do it.
All right, call the cops In five minutes.
So, my job is to say That a psycho robbed my store.
What's your job? I get to be the psycho.
Trust me, that's The hard part.
Aah! as cover I.
D.
's go, I prefer rich businessman Or international playboy to crazy thief, but if the situation Calls for it, you do what you have to do.
What's this dude doing on my car? Oh, boys, boys, boys.
You need to do me a favor.
Nothing personal, but you need To leave the neighborhood.
Yeah, well, why's that? Because it's mine.
And they're out of here! ¿qu?Diablos pas? Eh? no s? Mano.
Un hombre Estaba loco.
pues, entra.
Entra.
Concha quiere hablar Contigo.
They made it back Barely.
Nice work.
I'd say 8.
5 for style.
Maybe 9 for execution.
Quite a compliment.
Keep an eye out.
See what moves they make.
They'll be back soon enough.
We get to babysit the bad guys For a while.
You've been checking that thing All day.
Expecting a call? No.
Well, the The lady friend.
Send her flowers? Yes, I sent her flowers.
Why do you think I'm checking my phone? What did the card say? It said, "I'm sorry.
Call me.
" She doesn't need, "I'm sorry.
" She needs to know who you are, Where she stands.
I would imagine.
All right, well, let's say I sent her a second card.
What would it say? Jason Bly.
Always a pleasure.
Nice job ditching the police The other day.
You always manage those things With such style.
Maybe it's the sunglasses.
Where did you get them? Oh, an algerian special-OPS guy I tangled with a while back.
He didn't need them anymore.
I'd part with them if you'd Tell me why I got burned.
Tempting, but that's classified.
No, I just came by to see If you'd reconsidered Your position at all.
I've been reading up On your exploits.
You are a man of many talents.
Nice to be appreciated.
My hope My commitment, really, Is that you'll find a new outlet For your skills here in Miami, A new outlet that involves You settling down And no longer making problems For the intelligence community.
I see.
You got any ideas? Well, I realize that You probably don't have much In the way of job references From your times in afghanistan Or the former Soviet Republics, So I am prepared to offer you Full-time employment Papers and references.
You'll start as a security guard At a bank.
And who knows where things Might go from there? Really? A security guard? A new life as a private citizen.
A spook no more.
I'll think about it.
You do that.
I'll be in touch.
Barry, it's Michael.
We need to meet.
I want you to set up a business For a friend of mine A government worker, Name is Jason Bly, B-L-Y.
What kind of business you have In mind for your friend? Let's keep it vague.
I supplied the cash, But I need you to set it up.
He'll need bank accounts, An offshore corporation or two.
He'll need to make Some purchases.
Is your friend gonna Know about this business? I'd like it to be a surprise.
So, I help you set up This schmuck Bly.
I just want to know, What's in it for me? And i'll owe you one.
Three grand? Come on.
I'll do it, But you'll owe me big.
You know I'm good for it.
How do you think I feel? This is crazy.
I give you all this money, And I don't even see you.
I'm a criminal Terrorizing their neighborhood.
How's it gonna look If we're seen together? They came back, you know? More of them this time.
They hit a couple of places Down the block.
They're not gonna Leave your neighborhood alone Because a couple of guys Got beat up.
It's a business, ernie.
They're making money.
When are they gonna Leave the neighborhood? When I make it clear to them That the cost of doing business In your neighborhood Will be unacceptably high.
That better be soon.
Get the money and a six pack.
the term "shock and awe" gets misused a lot these days.
it's a popular name For a military tactic known as rapid dominance.
whether you do it With a 1,000-pound bomb or with a can of turpentine And a power drill, it's all about Being spectacular.
vamanos! kill the electronic brain Of any late-model car, and it's dead won't start, windows won't open.
then you can pretty much do Whatever you want.
No gun, no gun! no, no, no! ¿t?Quieres Explotar aqu?Adentro? Highly flammable! You shoot me, You set yourself on fire.
But that won't kill you.
The fire will suck the oxygen Out, and you'll suffocate.
Then you'll burn, but first You'll suffocate to death.
Fascinating, isn't it? Give me the money.
Give me the money! Now! Let's go! rápido! Move it! This neighborhood is mine! You hear me? My neighborhood! My neighborhood! This neighborhood is mine! All right! It's yours! piss off a criminal organization and you could end up dead.
You're pretty slick, huh? but if they don't kill you, They've got plans for you.
Come on.
Come with me.
Go.
there's no substitute For improvisation.
even the best plans Can't anticipate everything.
you better be able To roll with the punches.
Get him up.
Bring him here.
My name is Consuela.
They call me Concha.
Nice to meet you, Consuela.
Shut up.
diego, por favor.
That bodega that you robbed You know, that guy, the owner, He gives us a lot of trouble.
Doesn't seem so tough to me.
You could have saved us a lot Of trouble if you killed him, But you attack luis, You attack oscar, Now everybody's talking about The crazy gringo.
I think I have to meet you.
Crazy? I like to think of myself As dedicated.
s? But you have to understand Something This block, for me, is not about Money from some small shops.
it's about real estate, ¿entiendes? Oh, you're buying it? Exactly, and when the business Gets bad enough, They will sell to me.
You know, I thought about Killing you, But then I think, "oh, maybe not.
Maybe I have this guy Work for me.
" Work for you? The thing is, I'm not the employee type.
I've had some problems In the past with some jobs, Some unpleasantness You know, water-cooler stuff.
Like I said, I am very determined.
You will work for me.
they say you only get One chance to make a first impression With an employer.
doesn't matter if you're A store manager or a strong-arm guy you have to put Your best foot forward.
We make collections Every two or three days.
Do about half the stores On the street.
Next time, We do the others.
Where are your boys? They don't make collections Around here no more, Not with you anyway.
Tell them I said hi.
Hey, you can do that psycho crap With Concha, but not with me, ¿comprendes? And I don't want you Pouring turpentine on nobody While we're working, You got that? How's the real-estate business going? Eh, it's too complicated.
I'm old-school.
Used to be a bookie, Worked down at Jai Alai, Lent money, had my own crew.
The guy I worked for, though, Was into a lot of money With Concha.
crazy puta shot him Right in front of his kids During a birthday party, But I needed the work, So I ended up with her.
How's it working for a lady boss? Woman, man, I don't care, you know? I just don't want to be out in The street working at my age.
This place The guy's behind a little.
Just have to push him A little bit.
Not too much, though, you understand? Not too much.
He's an old man.
Look, you want this neighborhood To go down fast, right? This nickel-and-dime stuff Is gonna take forever.
any new employer is looking For the same things are you willing to go The extra mile? can you take the initiative, Impress them? You want this neighborhood To go downhill? I'll show you.
Hey, honey! Honey! Yeah, you! Get out of the car! Get out of the car! Get out! Give me your bag! Give me your money! Give me your money! Fi, sell it! Give me your bag.
Fi! Fi, give me the bag, Fi.
Let it go.
See, this is how You get a neighborhood.
¿están loco, hombre? What? This is how you do it.
No, you don't do this.
What did I say, huh? Whatever, I thought The point was You start mugging people On the street, We're gonna Have the cops down here.
Now we can't make No more collections today.
Well, she's got 100 bucks here.
Bah! We got to talk to Concha About this later.
You understand? Huh? I do.
no tiene nada aqu? Okay.
Buh-bye.
Oh, you're home.
Oh, Michael Westen, You look fabulous.
Good thing about being Out of a job I can dress how I like now.
One of your little side projects.
I don't want to know.
I hope you don't mind I let myself in.
No, make yourself comfortable.
You want a yogurt or something? Uh, I had one.
Not bad.
I don't want to sound Inhospitable, but Don't you need a warrant To be in here? Aren't your superiors Going to be a little concerned? We're a little past warrants, Aren't we? I don't think you and I Need to worry about official Protocol at this point.
You know, you're the one That made this personal.
You got a new rental car.
Yeah, they upgraded me yesterday.
Man, I have to say, Miami Has treated me pretty well.
That makes one of us.
Listen, I hope that you took My job offer seriously, Because round one Was just a warm-up.
In round two, Your brother lands in jail If he's not careful, And Fiona has some associates Who are very interested To know where she is Angry, angry people.
What do you say? Leave them alone, Bly.
I'll take the job.
Good call.
Good call.
You're gonna love Being a security guard.
Oh, you get to brush up On your reading and Well, you get to brush up On your reading.
All right, we'll talk soon.
in any new job, there's always Friction with your co-workers.
they're wondering if the boss Likes the new guy better, if he's going to make them Look bad.
in some jobs, that can get you A dark look in the break room.
in other jobs, that can get you A bullet in the head.
I wish I could have seen it.
You went right in the car, And you took her purse? You should have seen her face When I opened the door.
The cops were all over the street Asking questions for hours, Trying to find the lady.
Well, you know, Diego's right, of course.
Street crime like that Can be very dangerous for us, But I appreciate your dedication.
He can't go back there now.
He can't make collections with Cops asking everyone about him.
diego, da un momento, por favor.
I don't think that guy likes me.
He's old-fashioned, wants rules.
He likes when people Respect the rules.
And you? When the coast guard found me, I had nothing.
Mira.
I didn't build all of this By following rules.
However you pull it off, sign me up.
I want to talk to you About something A special job.
You know the bodega, The one that you robbed? You want me to knock it off again? There's not much there.
No, it's this man, The owner, Ernie Paseo.
He makes lots of problems for us.
He calls the cops, talks to The neighbors, meets with them.
I hear he's thinking about Getting outside security, too.
Sounds like a problem.
A problem that I think You can make go away.
He goes, the whole neighborhood Goes with him In just a few months.
Kill him? s? Maybe a fire.
Do the whole family, Because I don't want to deal With lawyers or inheritance.
She wants to kill me? I thought you were gonna Make this better.
I'm working on it, Ernie.
She can kill my whole family? She plans on killing me, too, If that makes you feel any better.
Can we call the police? I'm supposed to be a hit man.
It's not like I can get Them on tape, And the police won't be Able to do anything, And Concha will Come after both of us.
Just trust me.
You just need to get out of town, And i'll let you know when It's safe to come back.
Never been closed.
Well, then it's time For a vacation.
Take your family.
Go to Disney World.
Just get out of town.
You can do this, right? I'm giving you everything, All my savings.
And I promise you, I'm earning every penny.
I can do this.
I just need you to trust me.
military firebombs are typically white phosphorus Or chlorine trifluoride.
these are remarkably effective, but they're also unstable, Lethally toxic, and hard to find At the grocery store.
the main ingredient In a homemade firebomb, on the other hand, Is styrofoam.
a military demolitions expert could put something together In a few hours.
an i.
r.
a.
-trained guerilla Could do it in 20 minutes, give or take.
All right,Fi.
I'm off.
I'll talk to you later.
Be careful out there.
So, you do this,and you call me After, all right? Yeah, I got it.
I got it.
I put the bomb down, It goes boom Nice and easy.
We meet later, I'll take you to Concha.
Everything gonna be Hell.
Bodega's closed.
It's never closed.
Somebody told him.
Nobody told him.
Then why isn't he 'Cause you're the target, not Ernie.
I'm sorry I got to do this.
I talked to Concha.
She told me to do it.
It's nobody's fault.
It's just times are changing, And you got to go.
She told you to kill me? She told me I could do it Before or after Ernie.
I figure it was just Easier to do it now.
I was supposed to kill you.
What?! I was supposed to kill you.
That's what she She told you? Yeah.
'Cause then And then Me and you.
Probably she'll do it later.
That's how she does it, you know? She doesn't care about anybody.
She did my own boss the same way.
Listen to me She'll do you,too.
Turn around on your knees.
On your knees! Listen to me.
Listen to me! Concha's crazy.
Yeah, no arguments here.
She's She's killing people Our people.
It's got to stop.
I should have stopped It a long time ago.
We shouldn't be here Doing these things.
Maybe you're just a psycho.
If that's true, Then shoot me.
Shoot me.
But if not, let me finish this.
I will deal with Concha.
You walk away I walk away.
I walk away! Never see each other.
The neighborhood is yours.
How would you do it? being a spy, You have to get comfortable with the idea of people doing Bad things for good reasons, doing good things for bad reasons.
you do the best you can.
You can go back to your store.
They're never gonna come to Your neighborhood again.
You can count it It's all there.
That's all right.
Actually, here.
That's most of it back, Less some expenses.
I just needed a wad of cash To run through some bank accounts.
It's complicated.
I wasn't gonna take your life savings.
I don't know what to say.
I'm gonna tell the others so that They know what you did.
No, seriously, it ends here.
For everyone's safety, You can never tell anyone, Ever, about this.
I'm just some crazy guy who Robbed your store one day.
And we can never meet again, You understand? Thank you.
I'm gonna go.
The retirement luncheon For Michael Westen.
I love it.
I should have Brought you a gold watch.
Have a seat.
I have your new life right here.
You'll start on the night shift, But if you're a good boy, Work hard, keep your nose clean, You will be the day security Manager in a couple years, And I think that there's a Dental plan in there,too.
This Is awkward.
I've decided not to take the job.
Oh, Michael.
I am down here On a government paycheck.
The good citizens of this country Are gonna continue to pay me To make your life miserable.
I'm telling you, take A look at this folder.
It'd be much easier for both of us.
Actually, I have an even Bigger folder.
You like to talk about our close, Personal friendship.
I took it a step further.
I set up an offshore business In both of our names.
I gave you $100,000 In cash over the last week.
Actually, it's just 10 grand Deposited over and over, But it sure looks like A whole lot of money.
What are you talking about? Not done.
There are other things That document our friendship.
Uh, there's you in my place Without a warrant Eating my yogurt.
There you are riding around In a convertible mustang, Which I upgraded you to.
You're welcome.
I got to say, it looks pretty Convincing to me.
That's a career-ender there, Agent Bly.
All right, I'm listening.
I want the dossier On my burn notice.
Yeah, confidential, I know, But since we're such close, Personal friends We can keep this just between us.
I'll wait for your call, buddy.
Hey buddy Listen, I just wanted To let you know That the lady friend got a big, Fat apology from your buddy Bly, So you pulled it off.
It worked out okay? Oh, better than okay.
I got a toothbrush here now, And I think I might get That cadillac, too.
Kind of a makeup present.
So there's no hard feelings? No, no, I think it boosted My cred, actually.
I mean, I got the css to back off.
I got some super Spy juice going now.
Glad I could help, Sam.
Oh, Mike, One other thing I wanted To give you a heads-up on.
I just got off the phone With Fi a few minutes ago.
You know, she's been helping me With this whole girlfriend thing, And just wanted to tell you man-to-man, You better get ready For the big talk.
She is coming over there.
She should be there any Got to go.
Hi.
So, Bly is gone.
As promised, we talk about us, Or I kick your ass.
Fi, I don't know what to tell you.
You promised, Michael.
Yeah, I promised to talk about it.
I didn't promise I'd know what to say.
I just want to know where I stand.
I've been here a while.
It's been fun.
Is this going anywhere? Fi, do you remember When we were together? We were profoundly unhappy.
I still have scars to prove it.
You remember Dublin, Germany? Yes.
I just can't do that again.
So you want to be with someone else? No.
Fi As unhappy as we were, I don't think there's Anyone I could be with That would make me happier than you.
And I don't know If that's good enough No, it's not.
Oh, sorry! Sorry! Fi, Fi, I didn't mean that.
Fi.
Fi.
Fi, hold on.
Hold on.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Ow! You're gonna get yourself hurt.
Stop it.
I'm warning you, Fiona.
No.
in any kind of covert Intelligence operation, it's important to be careful What you wish for.
the information that you Fight so hard to get may be everything You wished for, or it may just make your life More complicated.
Thanks.
Have fun with it.
"classified"
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