Burn Notice

Michael: (voice-over) Getting information out of someone who doesn't want to give it up is all about upsetting the target's emotional balance; impairing their judgment. Fear is good for that; anger is not bad either.

Michael: (voice-over) Anyone who has handled large amount of cash can tell you, it's one of the toughest things in the world to move. It's heavy and dense, dead weight. If it's on fire, of course, that complicates things further.

Michael: (voice-over) When something serious is going down, it's a good idea to show up nice and early, so you can see the ground and assess the situation.

Michael: (voice-over) Doctors are well known to be the worst patients. Similarly, anyone with special ops training is tough to protect. They think they can handle anything.

Michael: (voice-over) When working a cover identity, the safest thing is to let the target take the lead. You've got more information than he does; you want to keep that edge.

Michael: (voice-over) The optical bug is a high tech toy that shoots a light beam out of a window; picks up vibration from the glass and translates it into speech. You can't see the beam with the naked eye, but take the infrared filter off a digital camera, and it shows up nicely. As high tech as a laser mic is, they are not hard to defeat. They pick up vibrations on the glass. So, you supply your own vibrations.

Michael: (voice-over) You can turn an old TV into an oscilloscope with about $150 worth of hardware. It'll electrocute you if you're not careful, but it makes a decent bug detector. If you don't want to tip off anyone who might be listening, you have to be prepared to keep talking for a few hours. Of course, if you have to keep talking, it's an opportunity for someone to hijack the conversation for their own purposes.

Michael: (voice-over) When you're going into a meeting cold with people you know nothing about, you have to be extra careful. Pay attention to every detail, map out an escape route or two, just in case… and never ever show up as yourself.

Michael: (voice-over) Sprinkle a mixture of flour and day glow powder on you floor before you go out, and you'll know if you've had any visitors and what they were after. You don't always have to get that clever though; sometimes, they want you to know what they are up to.

Michael: (voice-over) For most people a night out in a Miami club is a chance to see and be seen. When you're under government surveillance, it's a different story; you still want to know who's watching you, but the reasons are a little different.

Michael: (voice-over) When enough people hate you, sometimes the only move is to stand in the middle and hope they kill each other before they kill you.

Michael: Unfortunately, you're gonna have to get out of town for a while, Virgil. With this all over the papers there are still a few people out there who want to put a bullet in you. Virgil: Well, I'll just get the boat fixed up and go down to the Bahamas for a while. Michael: Great. Virgil: You sure you're not just trying to keep me away from your sweet mama? Sam: Hey Virge, don't push it.

Michael: (voice-over) There are two kinds of government surveillance, the kind that's there to look for something and the kind that's just there to make your life difficult.

Michael: (voice-over) As a rule, spies don't like dealing with cops. Covert ops are illegal by definition. If they were legal, they wouldn't need to be covert.

Michael: (voice-over) You can tie up a lot of resources by keeping a bugged phone line open. As long as it's open, they're supposed to keep listening. Say a few cryptic things now and then, and they'll be stuck in their little van trying to figure out what the hell you're doing.

Fiona: Honestly, I don't know why they bother. They should just put a bullet in your head and be done with it. Michael: Apparently I'm more valuable alive than dead. But I'm sure they'll take it under advisement.