Anonymous Host

By the end of Friday April 16, Koresh had finished writing about the first seal.

His anticipated schedule was on track.

On the outside, FBI leaders were having their own conversations.

As far as they were concerned, Koresh had proved that he wasn't to be trusted on Tuesday March 2 when he reneged on their surrender agreement.

From their perspective, he had been incalcitrant and avoidant ever since.

He often avoided speaking to negotiators for days at a time and wouldn't listen when they finally got a hold of him.

He'd agreed to come out after Passover and now he was talking about a manuscript.

They suspected this was just another delay tactic, even though Steve Schneider was offering to send out recordings of Koresh's progress.

The siege had been dragging on for 48 days and everyone was over it.

While law enforcement officers assigned to the standoff weren't as confined or deprived as the Branch Davidians, they were struggling too.

They were living in motels, away from their families and subsisting on fast food like pizza.

The days were long, with 12 hour shifts that were often extremely boring.

The HRT agents were especially restless.

They were often tasked with delivering goods like milk and medical supplies to Mount Carmel, going right up to the doors where four other federal agents had been killed.

Knowing the occupants inside were armed and responsible for their deaths agitated them further.

Because they were used to charging in rather than holding back, the HRT had actually submitted a proposed action plan to FBI headquarters in Washington DC more than a month earlier, on Wednesday March 10.

They'd suggested that they surround the compound with armoured tanks under cover of darkness, then demand the surrender of occupants and, if necessary, employ non-lethal tear gas to force the Branch Davidians out.

The negotiators advised against using tear gas to clear the compound, unless the Branch Davidians continued to resist all efforts to negotiate.

Because people had continued to surrender over the ensuing weeks and gradual progress was seemingly being made, the tear gas proposal was shelved.

By April, however, it was back on the table.