You know they got me doing this, doing that
And little bit of something else
Fighting cavities of evil, safeguarding America's health
But an afternoon pass, I don't get up off my ass
Thank you Jesus 'cause I, I'm a secret agent man
And little bit of something else
Fighting cavities of evil, safeguarding America's health
But an afternoon pass, I don't get up off my ass
Thank you Jesus 'cause I, I'm a secret agent man
— Devo, "Secret Agent Man"
"It's good tradecraft, but it's like hanging out in your dentist's reception area 24 hours a day. You read magazines, sip coffee, and every once in a while someone tries to kill you."
— Michael Westen, Burn Notice
Sam Fisher: Nice suit. Italian?
Displace Executive: Ah! Oh no... ah... I-Italian... yes, uh, Florentine silk, Andretti...
Fisher: Who's Andretti?
Executive: Andretti? Uh, famous designer... men's suits, tuxedos...
Fisher: I'm not a tuxedo kind of guy.
Executive: But... but you are... some kind of spy?
Fisher: Yeah, I'm the real kind, not the tuxedo kind. I'm the kind of spy that gets blood all over your Andretti unless you give me information!
Executive: Oh God, p-please, don't ruin my suit!
Displace Executive: Ah! Oh no... ah... I-Italian... yes, uh, Florentine silk, Andretti...
Fisher: Who's Andretti?
Executive: Andretti? Uh, famous designer... men's suits, tuxedos...
Fisher: I'm not a tuxedo kind of guy.
Executive: But... but you are... some kind of spy?
Fisher: Yeah, I'm the real kind, not the tuxedo kind. I'm the kind of spy that gets blood all over your Andretti unless you give me information!
Executive: Oh God, p-please, don't ruin my suit!
It's gathering intelligence and providing analysis... and using people. Exploiting them, somehow or another, that's what we have to do. We find out whatever weakness they have and we manipulate them into helping us. That's it, really. If they're honest people, we exploit their decency, and if they're dishonest, we exploit their guilt. You see, everyone has something. We lie to them and twist them, so they come to trust us, and depend on us when they really shouldn't. Tell us things they're not supposed to, often at great risk to themselves. And if it's going well, maybe we allow them to think that they're the ones twisting us, whilst always being aware that they might be playing the exact same game.
—Jean Courtney, The IPCRESS File
