It's February 28th, 1993, a quiet Sunday morning in Central Texas.

The fields are brown and bare. a quiet Sunday morning in Central Texas.

The fields are brown and bare around a cluster of buildings that house the members of the

Branch Davidian Religious Group.

Then federal agents arrive and all hell breaks loose.

How many gunshots did you hear?

It was quite a few.

You know, I couldn't really say how many it was.

The FBI had come to search the compound for weapons. Later, both sides will claim the other fired the first shot.

Good evening, friends. It has been over 36 hours now since federal agents first confronted a heavily armed religious cult near

Waco.

They were met by a hail of gunfire, killing four of the agents and wounding over a dozen others.

Tonight additional agents have arrived on that

scene, many of them in combat gear.

FBI agent Gary Nesner is one of the new arrivals, but he's not in combat gear. He's come with a different toolkit

as he explains in a speech in 2010.

Active listening skills. They're communication skills based on trying to develop a relationship with somebody.

Nesner is one of the FBI's lead hostage negotiators.

More than 100 people are inside the compound including dozens of children.

But Nesner says they don't see themselves as hostages because they're devoted to their

leader David Kerech.

So how do you then influence somebody that's not holding hostages?

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