Burn Notice End Run

While eating his “Brenner’s” yogurt, someone saying they were the police pounded on the loft door. Michael Westen hid his gun and got his alibi folder for Paxson only to find that it was his brother Nate introducing him to Paxson who had rousted him out of bed at 4am. Paxson threatened she would go through all his relatives and friends then Nate claimed she had accused him of “fleeing to Vegas” to avoid unpaid parking tickets. He wanted a ride to his meeting with an “investor,” Simon Davis, for his limo company. Sam came up with having Barry create a financial relation between M and someone in the Mayor’s office in order to “sting” Paxson when she rampaged through his relationships. Unfortunately, Brennen showed up and claimed to be Ms “new boss.” He sent AK47s to the rivals of the cartel who was after him which now had made them too occupied to case after him. He also brought an enforcer from Sicily named “the butcher” who would hold Nate hostage while M did some “chores.” Barry was at Madeline’s house to “do his magic” with the phony paper trail and while Fiona went out with a portable skimmer to get the mayor’s aide’s credit card info Sam had him help fix up the house. Brennen gave M some coveralls and instructions to go get a hardware key from a desk drawer in a building. In the building he scrounged to make a directional antenna for Brennen’s Bluetooth phone then sent his phone information to Sam. He asked Sam to glean through it for everything because “Brennen has the Westen brothers fitted for body bags.” He got the key but had to break a window, fake he was drunk, cut himself and talk himself out of trouble, pretending to be John Dixon the window washer when the guards came.

 

Next, Brennen gave M a voice recorder and told him to go get a recording of the “gun-hobbyist” man in that house, Jonathan Carver, saying his full name and every number 0 through 9. M borrowed his tire iron, broke into a car then ran it into Carvers car which gave him credence to get into the house and talk numbers. He called Sam again saying he had stolen a hardware key with an agency routing code from Jonathan Carver. Barry got Brennen's financial info and found he had been transferring money regularly overseas and the name of Onyx International. Fiona got the Mayor’s Aide’s info as well, then went to meet Sam at Brennen’s address. M had to pick a fight with Carver in order to get him to say all the numbers; but he did it, midst a barrage of gunfire as they sped away. They next went to JLA Industries, a weapons manufacturer, and M was told to go fetch a box in R&D lab 422. He backed down Brennen saying he wouldn’t go unless he knew what it was and where it was going. Brennen called Nate and told Butcher to hold the line while they decided if Nate lived through the phone call. M said he loved his brother but there was only one thing that would get him in the building – while voiceover said that the problem with blackmail was it was like a gun with only one bullet which couldn’t be wasted on every little problem. Brennen backed down and revealed that it was a biometric lock for advanced infantry weapons and the only difference stealing it would make would be how much money he made while people went on with their wars. M agreed only if Nate was released unharmed and he would never see him again.

 

M took the tire iron again and broke into the parking garage where he sounded car alarms and conned both guards into coming to investigate then capturing them. Sam and Fiona found that Nate and the Butcher had just left when they got to Brennen’s house – M told them on the phone to never mind because Brennen had brought Nate to him. Brennen said it was to prevent stupid decisions and then shot Nate in the arm with a frangible round. Brennen sent M back in with the key and voice code, which he had prepared while M was dealing with the guards, along with the address of where he should bring the key when he got it. M talked with Sam while getting the box and discussed that Brennen had set up a holding company, “Belle Anna” to only transfer 40k a year, which seemed like a lot of effort for a small amount of money. He put together that Brennen had a tie clip gift and didn’t want to talk about his family, so there may be a daughter “Annabelle” receiving the money. They then set up a counter-blackmail by convincing Tyler Brennen that M knew all about him, and was now in control, by: sending a phone-photo of them blowing up his house, having Barry intercept a call and saying that his accounts had been drained, and claiming that they had sent someone to get Annabelle in Switzerland. Brennen called Switzerland to check, then told M that “this isn’t you”; but M replied that they were now “playing by your rules.” Brennen nearly exploded with rage and threats now that the shoe was on the other foot. Departing, he threatened that “you’ll hear from me again” to which M said: “yea, you owe me a Christmas card.”

 

Nate told Madeline that he was attacked by a mugger in order to explain the full arm bandage. M apologized to Nate that he knew it was sometimes hard being his brother. Nate said he was getting used to it. Madeline found it coincidental that Barry, Fiona and Sam were all very busy at the same time Nate was being mugged; then, told M that she’d rather that he didn’t lie right to her face. She found a new buddy in Barry who was bringing over some new hair gel. M told Fiona that he was thinking that he screwed up Nate’s life "better than he does himself." Paxson came storming into the loft and revealed that her partner had been suspended for grilling a mayor’s aide for 3 hours about a bank error account with a Michael Westen. She warned him that she could “give as good a I get” – which didn’t seem to be very well from the way she flounced out of the loft.