The Best David Emerson Quotes

David: [Extends his hand for Jack to shake it] no hard feelings
Jack: [Shakes his hand] forget it
David: We have to be careful in our profession, I'm sure you understand
Jack: Yeah
David: We all know the drill: disagreements are fine but when a decision is made, fall in or you're gone
Jack: I know a lot of guys who say that, it's good to know you mean it
David: Before you were subpoenaed, you traveled the world, place to place for more than a year. Why? What were you looking for?
Jack: Doesn't really matter: whatever it was, I didn't find it
David: You must've known what was waiting, why'd you come back?
Jack: [Jokingly] I wanted to know what it was like to walk into a propeller
David: It's funny but no, really... why?
Jack: This my home
David: That doesn't explain why you turned yourself in to the Justice Department
Jack: Tony, said you were in Beirut and Mogadishu?
David: And Afghanistan: two tours, went back a third time as a private contractor
Jack: "Be polite, professional, and have a plan to kill everyone you meet" right?
David: Pretty much
Jack: That's the question, isn't it? What are the rules of engagement? And where the crimes begin? You want to know why I came back? That's why
David: I'm not sure I follow
Jack: I just got tired of talking to myself. You see, I actually believed everything I did was "right." That's why I wanted to start a "dialog", come clean, set the record straight
David: First mistake?
Jack: So I found out
David: I don't know of someone who hasn't been to "the edge", and looked over, I could never understand
Jack: Yeah
David: It's good to have you on board

David: [Talking privately] so tell how the FBI managed to find Schector?
Tony: They used an old colleague of mine: an agent by the name of Jack Bauer
David: Yeah I know who Bauer is
Tony: His not going to be a problem, I took care of Schector before he could tell the FBI anything, I'll take care of Jack Bauer too
David: Then I want you to work on this new job
Tony: Speaking of which, you haven't told me what it is
David: Tanner has the specs: he'll brief you when he gets here
Tony: Why don't you just tell me now?
David: Because you don't need to know "yet." Tony, we've been doing this for three years. The less information any one of us has, the safer we all are. Come on, after this next job, we're done, "cash our chips", do whatever we want
Tony: [Nods] alright, I'll call you when Tanner gets here

David: [Over the phone] yeah?
Tony: [while Chloe monitors the call] it's me
David: [Surprised to hear from him] where are you?
Tony: I'm at a parking garage getting a car. I got away from the FBI
David: Yeah I heard, I also heard it was Jack Bauer who got you out?
Tony: That's right
David: That doesn't make any sense. Bauer's working for "them", he helped capture you
Tony: That's only because he didn't have a choice: his "on board" now
David: What'd you mean "on board"?
Tony: You heard about the Senate hearings this morning? They're going to file criminal charges against him. I told Bauer that if he helped us out with the mission, we can get him out of the country. Look, if it weren't for Jack, I'd still be in custody, we can use him, I'm telling you
David: I don't know, Morgan's hiring new men now
Tony: [Irritated] Morgan's a thug: he can't run point on something this important. Let me do it like we "planned." Bauer can take Tanner's place, and we're good to go
David: [after thinking it over] alright, bring Bauer. We're at 22-11 Chesterfield
Tony: [Before hanging up] got it

David: Tanner, he's the only who knew we were grabbing Matobo: he must've talked
Litvak: [to Emerson, referring to the FBI] sir, we need to go before they get here
Tony: Not without Matobo
Litvak: Those walls are two feet thick, even if we blow a hole with a shape charge, it'll kill everyone inside
Jack: I think I found a way
Litvak: Yeah? Like what?
Jack: We can gas them out
Litvak: [Irritated] we don't have any
Jack: We'll find something
Jack: [to Emerson] the ventilation system works straight into the safe room, if I can feed the gas through that, it'll flush them out
Litvak: [to Jack] the FBI is coming
Jack: They won't be here for at least fifteen minutes
Litvak: What're you talking about? How do you know?
Jack: If they knew anything before we got here, they would've evacuated Matobo
Litvak: [to Emerson] that's just a guess
Jack: [to Emerson] tact teams are staged out of the DC branch office: that's twenty one miles from here. With traffic, that gives us at least fifteen minutes
Tony: [to everyone] we're not leaving without Matobo, that's what Dubaku is paying us for
Litvak: [to Emerson] you aren't seriously considering...
David: [shouts to Litvak] shut up
David: [to Jack] what kind of gas are you talking about?
Jack: Ammonium dysterate, we can make it from basic household products
Litvak: Do it

Tony: [Talking privately] what's going on?
David: Bringing Bauer in is not worth the risk
Tony: What're you talking about? I would still be in FBI custody if it wasn't for him
David: Alright, you already made your case
Tony: [Insistently] we can use him
David: I "considered" it but I'm going a different "way"
Tony: I owe him. Do you understand that?
David: Yeah I appreciate your loyalty, I always have: this is business. I can't have an unknown "factor" like Jack Bauer coming in and messing things up
Tony: [while Emerson loads and cocks a gun] what're you going to do? Kill him?
David: No, you are

[about Jack returning to the United States after his stint in Sangala]
David: Why'd you come back?
Jack: Wanted to know what it was like to walk into a propeller.
David: [unamused] That's funny.

David: What's been bothering you Jack?
Jack: Nothing, I was wondering why you never told Tony how you got him out of CTU?
Tony: How did you do it?
David: Christopher Henderson
Jack: Christopher Henderson tried to kill him
David: Henderson had no intention on killing Tony: he "purposely" missed the artery when he injected it. It was just "enough" to slow his heart to the point where you'd "think" that he was dead, my "job" was to extract him, revive him, and use him against you
Jack: Yeah
David: By the time I stabilized him, you had already killed Henderson, the mission had failed, so my team went "dark"
Jack: Why didn't you just let Tony go?
David: Tony "chose" to stay with us: he was consumed with hatred and anger from what the government did to Michelle. Anyway, I talked to him, more importantly, I "listened" to him, and pretty soon he came to realize I was "right"
Jack: [to Tony] about what?
Tony: That the "rules" had changed and there was nothing left such as honor, that we would have to "take care" of each other like brothers