Burn Notice Dead or Alive

Michael Westen sat at his computer trying to see if there was any way to copy the data from the memory chip of the people who burned him, which he had stolen back from Justin Walsh.  Walsh was the crypto-analyst who a thief had brought it to for decoding; but, when he recognized its value, killed the thief and took it himself to auction off.  M found that it wasn’t copyable. He and the others had decided to give the thumb drive to Marv, Jesse’s old handler; but Jesse said he was “doing a dance” trying to get Marv to work with M.  He especially didn’t like Ms idea to talk to Marv personally. [Still no mention of what Walsh had done with the original bible and NOC list, OR why Ms old handler couldn’t help!] Jesse condescendingly gave in saying “don’t step on any toes.” Incredibly, Marv seemed to believe that it was only M who had brought him to Miami and tried to blackmail him! Jesse being completely innocent. And, as if he hadn’t worked a day for the government counter-intelligence, he demanded that M had to "go on record" against every person he had ever contacted who burned him. Even when M warned him of the danger for both Marv and he, Marv still demanded that he tell all on polygraph. In voiceover, M claimed that "the unvarnished truth is the greatest bargaining cihp a spy has and you only get to play it once," as Marv strapped him into the machine and he answered: "My name is Michael Westen, I used to be a spy."

 

Seemingly cut out of the same mold as incompetent Marv, Jesse went blabbing all over to Madeline like it was a done deal they were getting their old jobs back. Madeline said that M had neglected to tell her. Sam gave M his old surveillance log which he had kept for the FBI when they first began, including a daily yogurt tally. Sam had a gig of his own trying to locate a buddy, Detective Kevin Baruchel, who had gone missing. The newspapers claimed that he had shot some drug dealers then fled, leaving Claire and their son Ryan. Pete Jackman, Kevin’s partner for 4 years, hovered around Claire solicitously claiming the police had already considered Kevin guilty and were shutting down the investigation; because, there were traces of Cocaine in his car and unreported contacts with criminals on his cell phone. Claire’s problem was that they had suspended her husband and taken his pension so they had nothing to live on. Additionally their friends all had turned against them. Sam found that there was a repeat caller on Kevin’s call log: Ted Seyers, who had a long rap-sheet. M recognized that a short call was Baruchel calling back whoever it was so they could talk privately. M and the others went to talk to Ted and had Jesse waiting with a Taser gun if he decided to run away - he did. In a darkend room, a bright-light interrogation Ted began with: “You can't hold me. I’ve got a deal. Call detective Jackman; he’s my get out of jail free card.” They told Ted that he could either tell them where Baruchel was or “find out what it was like to be a casserole” baking inside a 140 degree shipping container. Ted said that he had been threatened by Pete Jackman with death if he didn’t kill Baruchel. Pete had killed the “bangers and stole all their junk.” Then Baruchel got suspicious and started asking questions, so Pete told Ted to act like he had information, get a meeting, take him into the water and kill him. Ted was supposed to get a cut after he had gotten rid of the body. M had to physically remove Sam from clubbing Ted; then, decided to have Sam go tell Claire about it and they would see what they could do to break it open without making it a cop’s word against a criminal without any evidence.

 

Predictably Fiona wanted to "solve" Pete with C-4. Less predictably Sam turned down a drink and said he wasn’t sleeping. M suggested they bait Pete into bringing out the drugs he still hadn’t moved and getting him busted when he did. Ted asked “what’s in it for me” when they asked him to set up a buy that night for “Ray,” a dealer out of Jacksonville. Sam, pulling out his knife, told him that he would get to go to prison instead of staying in the container, "although the container would be a shorter sentence." Going into one of Ms several hotel meetings with Marv, Fiona offered to be a "character witness" which greatly surprised M. “I thought you hated the idea,” he asked her. “I do, but I want you to have a choice," she replied. "You want me to have a choice as long as I choose what you want!” Then she told him “I hope you’re never in a situation where your survival depends upon your ability to understand relationships. You’ll be dead in seconds.” So back with Marv, incredibly he whined that he might be in danger from Sam, Fiona or Jesse having spread info around! This, after he had blabbed it all over to “check out his story!” Back with Sam, his plan was to “sell Ms cover as a buyer” by using a "splash of Napalm" – gasoline and hydroxyl aluminum. At the meeting with Jackman, M said he had “dispensed” with Ted as a looser-junky who might open his mouth; then, when Pete wanted to back, out M lit up the “ring of trust” napalm so that a “dirty-cop” can’t back out of a conversation. Pete eventually agreed but then kept changing the venue because Sam’s fire stunt worked too well. Over Sam’s objections, they decided to make Pete think that Kevin was still alive in order to hurry him along. Claire had to pretend that she had a secret call from Kevin but she couldn’t talk about it. Sam set up a meeting with Pete on Kevin’s boat and pretended they had “just missed him, he was laying low and talking to internal affairs.” Then Clair sold it when Pete came to verify with her. And, Fiona and Jesse sold it when they questioned Pete pretending to be internal affairs cops and telling him not to leave town.

 

But first, Fiona had to borrow some “cop shoes” from Madeline and got an ear-full about how “Mike says good-bye.” Fiona said that getting back in wasn’t a sure thing and that "If M said good-bye like that again no one would have to worry about whether he was dead or alive because I'll kill him." Jesse told Fiona that “justice and revenge – that’s like chocolate and peanut butter as far as I’m concerned.” Once he believed that Kevin was alive, Pete immediately called M to arrange the deal today! Fiona didn’t like it being on Kevin’s boat but Jesse surmised he probably didn’t want a repeat of the “ring of trust.” Sam said “plus if anything goes wrong he can always blame it on Kevin.” When M was on the boat, Fiona and Sam spotted Pete in the bushes with a remote detonator and warned M to get out before the boat blew up. Then Jesse was sent to set up a traffic jam on the causeway so M could catch up with Pete and terrorize him a bit. M was going to convince him that the only way out was for him to plant the coke on Kevin again and Sam was to make sure the cops were there when he did. Pete begged for his life then came up with the idea on his own – “let me live and I’m yours,” he said. M replied, “a pet cop that could work." Unfortunately, Sam met with the arrogant Lieutenant Briggs who refused to come until Sam disarmed him and offered to let him crucify him if he wasn’t satisfied. At Kevin's house, Pete was still trying to chicken out so M gave him two options: “drug planter or organ donor.” As Pete was planting his coke in the heating duct, Briggs arrested him. When Pete got confused over Sam telling him that Kevin was really dead and that Ted was really alive and had confessed, Sam decked him and said “sort it out in prison you SOB.” Later, Briggs made it a point to tell Sam that "you were right and I'm sorry you lost your friend."

 

Back at Madeline’s, M heard “people like to say good-bye Michael.” He replied, “who knows, maybe this time we won’t have to; but whatever I decide, this time I’ll let YOU know.” Marv was supposed to have Homeland Security at the handoff; but, wouldn’t tell them who he was taking it to – for their own protection – right before his "Homeland" guys shot him in the chest! Marv called to Jesse that he was sorry, "they threatened to kill my wife.” M recognized one of the people in the get-away SUV – Brennan!