Breaking Bad · Season 4
[Hank and Walter are looking over Gale's lab notes]
[looking at Gale's lab notes] Right here, here at the top, it says, "To W.W. My star, my perfect silence." "W.W." I mean, who do you figure that is, y'know? Woodrow Wilson? Willy Wonka? ...Walter White?
Heh. [jokingly putting his hands up] You got me!
You want to know what's next for Little Miss Pissed In His Pants?
No.
You sure now?
Yep.
Don't even want to take a wild guess?
[sniffles] You're gonna kill him. Is this the part where I'm supposed to beg you not to do it? [puts hands together] Aw, please, please. [raises voice] And then what? I'm supposed to promise, cross my heart, to, like, straighten up and fly right or toe the line or some other crap that I'm not gonna say? Is that what your little show here was all about?
You're on thin ice, you little shithead. You know that?
You ain't gonna smoke that dude in there. I know that. You know how come I know? Because you went to the trouble of putting a blindfold on him.
I'm going back to bed. Wipe the counter after you guys are done.
[Walter is venting to Saul about his problems with the business]
What about my brother-in-law? He suspects Jesse—Hell, he knows Jesse is involved in the sale of blue meth. That was Hank's one and only lead.
Now what if he puts and he goes after Jesse for the murder? He goes after him how? On his Rascal Scooter? [pause; clears his throats] That, perhaps, sounded insensitive. But if he goes after him, I'll sue his ass for police brutality, harassment, assault, and sixteen other things. Now, the history that those two have together being what it is, you got to figure your brother-in-law's smart enough not to go down that particular road. Goose egg, bupkis. That's what the cops got. I wouldn't worry about it.
Then what else should I not worry about, Saul, hm? Should I not worry that Gus plans to murder me at the first chance he gets? Should I not worry that my drug-addicted partner doesn't seem to care whether he lives or dies? You should see his house. It's like Skid Row! He has actual hobos living there! Now how long before Gus decides that he's too big of a risk? That guy Mike, that grunting dead-eyed cretin, sucker punching me in the face! I've got Gus wielding a box cutter! I mean... Western Union! Message received! Let me ask you, when did this stop being a business, hm? Why am I the only person capable of behaving in a professional manner?
I'm not even kidding, because if you really think about it, you can't even see it so how can you know just how bad radio frequencies and microwaves and cell phones and stuff are getting you. I mean, you can be strolling through security at the airport on your way to see your grandma and then you get waved through a full body x-ray scanner and the next day you can be dead or dying or at least dying from all the radiation that they say is safe which there's no way it could because they have to deliver a concentrated dose, okay? Enough to penetrate your clothes and so the accumulated amount can definitely be dangerous to susceptible individuals, especially if you're from a rural area. I mean, the ozone layer is already through because of the cow farts.
You are not the guy. You're not capable of being the guy. I had a guy, but now I don't. You are not the guy.
Then what the hell am I doing here?
I don't know! It's not my call! I just do what I'm told and now you're gonna do what you're told, which is to sit here, shut up, and stay in the car until we finish our pickups! You got it?
Hey, Mom? Dad?
[from the bedroom] Hey, son!
Where are you?
Uh, we're... We're back here. We'll be out in a minute.
[realizes his parents are having sex] Oh, God.
Jesse, Jesse! What happened yesterday? Where were you?
I was out with Mike helping make pickups.
Picking up what?
Cash, dead drops. Mike made the pickups and I guarded him.
You... guarded Mike? What is this, some kind of a joke?
And you know what? Two dudes tried to rob us and I saved the stash. I took care of business, just like I'm taking care of business right now. You want to stand there dicking around or do you want to suit up and get to work? Get in gear, yo, if you want to do this because I'm meeting up with Mike this afternoon.
What, again? Why?
Guess I have two jobs now.
This guy Gale Boetticher, he was eccentric. Real character, y'know? He's, uh, he's dead now.
Who was he?
He was a meth cook.
Uh, he was a meth chef. We're talking five-stars, candles and white tablecloth, y'know? I can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but he was a genius, plain and simple. I mean, uh–Boy, if he applied that big brain of his to something good, I dunno, who knows? He could've helped humanity or something like that. I mean, how many actual geniuses are there in the world? If he'd have taken his life in a different direction, who knows?
Hank, not to tell you your business, but I'm not sure I agree.
What do you mean?
Well, you showed me that notebook and from what I saw–and this is just my humble opinion–from what I saw on those papers... genius? Not so much. I mean, there was no reasoning, no deductions in those pages, so to my eye, all this brilliance looks like nothing more than just simple rote copying, probably of someone else's work. Believe me, I have been around enough students to know. So this genius of yours, maybe he's still out there.
[Hank is looking through Gale's case file]
You find something?
Oh, just this... this guy I'm looking at. You know, everything he buys and eats is organic, fair trade, vegan. [looks at a Los Pollos Hermanos napkin with notes on it found in Gale's apartment] Since when do vegans eat fried chicken?
You're not some hardened criminal, Walt. You're in over your head. That's what we tell them. That's the truth.
That is not the truth.
Of course it is. A schoolteacher, cancer, desperate for money...
Okay, we're done here.
...roped into working for–Unable to even quit? You told me that yourself, Walt. Jesus, what was I thinking? Walt, please, let's both of us stop trying to justify this whole thing and admit you're in danger!
[pause] Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how much I make a year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going into work? A business big enough that it could be listed on the NASDAQ goes belly up! Disappears! It ceases to exist without me! No, you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!
[Walter smacks open the car wash cash register]
Always sticky.
Yeah.
No problem. As is. Who'd have thought that someday I would be handing these keys to you? [Bogdan hands Walter the keys to the car wash] Many years... Almost forgot.
[Bogdan takes down his framed first dollar]
Bogdan. As is.
[Bogdan hands over the framed dollar and leaves. Walter smashes the frame open and uses the dollar to buy a soda]
Alright, I need an update.
Update on what?
An update on these little field trips that you've been taking with Mike.
I told you already we pick up money, check on things, stuff like that.
And you're his bodyguard, right? [Jesse turns away] What? What? That's what you said!
I said I guarded him, like backup, like a second set of eyes. Everybody needs backup, right?
And this has to be you? It can't be–I don't know–Tyrus or any of the couple dozen muscleheads that Gus has working for him? It has to be Jesse Pinkman. Why? What, is there something about you I don't know? Are you a former Navy SEAL? Do you have to have your hands registered as lethal weapons?
[flips Walter off] Register this.
All I'm saying is that do you not even question this? Do you really believe that you mean anything to these people? And I'm not trying to be insulting, I'm just trying to make you see things clearly.
I see they can't outright kill me but they don't want me getting high. I see this thing probably started as Gus getting Mike to babysit me. But you know what? I saved Mike from getting robbed, even killed maybe. So maybe I'm not such a loser after all!
I mean, what if it... Oh, God... [beat] I mean, what if it...What if it's all just a set-up?
What?
What if this robbery that you stopped wasn't even real? I mean, think about it. Your first day out guarding Mike, he steps out for one second and what happens? You immediately get robbed.
You are such an asshole!
Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer. Like you said, Gus can't kill you because of me. He knows that I won't stand for it. He needs me and he hates the fact that he needs me! So what does he do? He goes to work driving a wedge between you and me!
You're an asshole. If you'd been there, you'd know it wasn't a set-up.
Wait a minute, how long did those guys chase you, huh? 'Cause the way you describe it, they gave up pretty damn easy. No, no, this whole thing–all of this–it's all about me!
This was my idea. Don't punish them. You tell Gus to blame me, not them.
He does.
Skyler, I may have overstated things earlier and I'm sorry to be so forward. But I just–I want you to know something. I want you to–I need you to understand that you are safe. You, Junior, Holly... You are completely safe. Everything that I do–everything–I do it to protect this family.
So buying that car, that was protecting your family?
Okay, I... Alright, maybe it's a little flashy, but he needed a car, and I'm his father, and I should be able to get what he wants.
It goes back. Tomorrow.
Skyler, it will crush him.
That car directly contradicts our story. And if you're so invested in protecting this family, it means protecting the story. What do you think the neighbors are gonna say, Walt? What about Hank and Marie? How about the IRS? What were you thinking, Walt?
I was thinking that I wanted to do something nice for my son. [beat] Look... I just worry that he'll blame you for this.
Oh, he will. Once again, he'll blame his bitch mother for taking away what his loving father has given him... So, thanks for that. [pause] But you know what, Walt? Someone has to protect this family from the man who protects this family.
[Walter has taken the Dodge Challenger he had bought for Walter Jr. to an empty parking lot instead of to the dealership. After burning some donuts and setting the gas tank on fire, he calls for a taxi while sitting on the curb.]
[on the phone] Yes, hello. I need a cab... Yes, thank you. The name is White... I'm at the Pavilion parking lot on University... Oh yes, that's right, just south of the airport.... Oh, that would be great, thank you. Oh, how long do you think that would take? [pause; the Dodge Challenger explodes] No, I'm sure he'll see me. Thank you.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Breaking Bad pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
