Burn Notice

- My name is michael westen.

I used to be a spy until...

we got a burn notice on you.

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 girlfriend...

Should we shoot them?

- An old friend who used to inform on you to the fbi...

- You know spies- bunch of bitchy little girls.

Family too...

hey, is that your mom again?

If you're desperate...

- Someone needs your help, michael.

- And a down-and-out spy you met along the way.

- That's how we do it, people.

- Bottom line, as long as you're burned,

You're not going anywhere.

It's a deep-cover job,

Going after the leader of a terrorist network.

I need you to bring them down, no matter what.

- I'm james. Welcome to the family.

- This guy, james- he's getting to you.

They all are.

- It's difficult to work so hard to be part of something,

Knowing you have to destroy it.

These people believe in what they're doing.

- The data you ripped from sonya's phone was a gold mine.

- So we know where james is? - No.

But for the first time, we know where he's gonna be

Before he gets there- veracruz, mexico.

- Alpha team, I'm a friendly.

- Hey! - Simon.

- I'm running this extraction, on orders of the cia.

- You're working with a monster!

And what is michael, huh?

no, no, no, no, no, no.

- Only two people in the world knew exactly

Where we'd be today.

Me...

And you.

I would never betray you.

- I'm gonna give you five seconds to come clean

Before this becomes a lot more painful.

- She didn't betray you. I did.

I'm working with the cia.

A spy's job, at the most basic level,

Is to deceive.

You build a lie.

You nurture that lie, selling it to your target,

Bit by bit, until he believes.

Your lie becomes your weapon, your salvation,

The only thing that stands between you and disaster.

When that lie falls away,

You're left with only the hard truth

Of who you are and what you've done.

When that happens, you're out of moves.

The only thing there is to do then is await your fate.

- Come on. James wants to talk.

- I want you to tell me something.

Was any of it real?

Between us?

I had a job to do, sonya-

Get close to you, close to the people you work with.

- You didn't answer the question.

- I was undercover for so long, I lost track of who I was.

And part of me-

The part that believed in what we were doing-

That part...

Cared for you.

And you?

Were you just recruiting an asset?

I had a job to do too.

Did I take pleasure in it? Yes.

my heart belongs to my work.

It will always come first.

Sit.

- I have been contemplating our circumstances, michael,

And I'm deeply concerned by what you've done.

I have questions, important questions,

Questions that will determine your future...

And ours.

What do you want to know?

- I need to know exactly what the cia wants.

- They want the leader of this group.

They want you. - Hmm.

And if you don't give them that?

- My friends will spend the rest of their lives

In a cia detention center.

What we do here together...

What we stand for...

Do you believe in it?

And don't...

Give me the answer that you think I want.

What I want is the truth.

- I haven't always agreed with your methods,

But the jobs I've helped you with,

The ones no one else was willing to do,

They needed to be done.

We protect what is important.

You made me part of something

That's bigger than you, bigger than me.

You made me believe there is something worth fighting for,

Something to believe in.

- I believe in you, michael westen.

Always have.

I think there's a way out of this,

A way to salvage our organization,

A way to save your friends, a way to save yourself.

But in order to do that, I need you to do something for me.

I need you to go back to miami

And return yourself to the good graces of the cia.

I need you to tell them a story.

I need you to convince them that you barely escaped with us

After the mission went wrong.

I need you to convince them that you looked

For an opportunity to capture me yourself,

You moved heaven and earth to complete your task,

But it proved impossible.

And I need you to convince them

That you made me believe I was betrayed by an underling,

And you have heroically returned home to continue your work.

Will you do that?

Will you lie to the cia for me?

Jesus, michael!

We thought you were dead.

- Yeah, I'm in mexico. I'm fine.

good.

And the operation?

My cover is intact.

The operation is still alive.

- As a spy, when you stop believing in the orders

You've been given, you can't just walk away.

You have to go deeper.

You have to lie to the people giving those orders.

You have to act as if nothing's wrong.

- Mr. Westen, please empty your pockets.

- And you have to make everyone think you're dedicated

To the very operation you're trying to destroy.

We've been over this report

Half a dozen times, and I can't make heads or tails of it,

Especially why the hell james kendrick

Isn't in our custody right now.

- The operative in charge of the extraction team was killed.

It would have been too big a risk

For westen to try to apprehend kendrick on his own.

- Isn't that what your man is supposed to do-

Take risks, get the job done?

I believe that was part

Of the understanding in the deal you made with him

To come on board this operation.

- Yes, sir, the concern was that making a move

Would have blown his cover.

- And not making a move got us exactly nothing.

Now, we're all questioning

Why you handed over a mission this sensitive

To an operative with his, uh...

Reputation.

- If it weren't for westen, sir,

We wouldn't be as close as we are.

- Close doesn't count for much if he can't finish the job.

- We can still pull this together.

We just need a little more- - you've been singing that song

For the better part of a decade, and you know what?

I'm tired of hearing it.

Now, I am pulling this operation from clandestine services

And sending it back upstairs for analysis.

If we decide

That this network is still worth going after,

We'll assign a new team.

This is our only shot, sir.

Once kendrick is gone, he's gone.

- Well, maybe your operative should have thought about that

Before letting the bastard walk away.

- That operative you're talking about is sitting right here.

Excuse me?

With all due respect...

When was the last time you were in the field?

When was the last time you had dinner with james kendrick?

- I am the director of central intelligence

For the entire goddamn usa.

If I say this op is over, it's over.

- When I started this op, you thought randall burke

Was the head of this network.

I'm the one who dug deeper.

I discovered james kendrick

Is sitting on the top of this pyramid.

Now, you can't expect me to just walk away from this, not now.

Now, I know him better than anyone in this room,

And if you shut this down,

You lose all hope of stopping him.

Sir, I'm asking you to trust me.

Let me bring this home.

You have 48 hours.

If you don't have it wrapped up by then,

We'll be back here deciding how deep a pit to toss you into.