Waco (TV Mini Series)

Stalling for Time (2018)

Michael Shannon: Gary Noesner

Quotes 

• Tony Prince : Lack of electricity makes them less comfortable and more willing to compromise.

  Gary Noesner : Under normal circumstances, yes. But these people, they already know how to live with nothing. All you're doing is pissing 'em off.

• Steve Schneider : I don't understand, Gary. Why did you shut our power off?

  Gary Noesner : Look, you gotta understand. The negotiators do not get 100% of the input, okay? The tactical side, they have a say in it, as well. Our position is moving forward. I thought we made a lot of progress yesterday delivering you that milk with Sheriff Harwell.

  Steve Schneider : Me, too. Which is why I'm confused. I mean, you send in the milk for the kids, and then you turn off the power so it goes bad. I mean, where's the sense in that?

• Gary Noesner : Do these kids seem abused to you?

  Walter Graves : No, they sure don't.

  Gary Noesner : Yeah. I've seen abused kids. They don't act like this. These children are loved. Their parents must be suffering to be without 'em. Koresh won't send out any more kids. We need to start working on the parents.

  Walter Graves : Okay. How do we do that?

  Gary Noesner : Go get the camera.

• Gary Noesner : My bosses have it in their minds that this might become another Jonestown.

  Steve Schneider : Another Jonestown? Wait a second. Do you think that we are going to kill ourselves?

  Gary Noesner : Well, frankly, Steve, I don't know what you're thinking.

  Steve Schneider : Gary, do you honestly believe that I would spend this much time on the phone with you if that was our plan? We're trying to find a solution. A solution that will take us back to the life we had before you came in here and ruined it.

  Gary Noesner : I am, too. Now, what I'd really like to do is take advantage of the good stuff that happened yesterday and keep moving forward. Do you think we can do that?

  Steve Schneider : Look. What I want you to do is tell your bosses we are not going to kill ourselves. That is not what we're about.

  Gary Noesner : I will. Is David there? I'd like to talk to him.

  Steve Schneider : David's not gonna talk to you again until you turn our electricity back on.

• Gary Noesner : You know, sir, with you talking to Mitch and I separately, it feels like we're operating at cross purposes here.

  Tony Prince : It's been nine days. How much longer do I let this go on?

  Gary Noesner : As long as it takes.

  Tony Prince : Do you know what this is costing taxpayers?

  Gary Noesner : God damn it, I'm not worried about taxpayers right now.

  Tony Prince : Gary, we need to bring this to a resolution.

• Gary Noesner : Koresh has been bullied his entire life.

  Tony Prince : Here we go.

  Gary Noesner : The more you let HRT do what they did last night, the more he's gonna dig in. He's let people out. That shows he's willing to work with us. But we've gotta meet that with positive reinforcement, not punishment. You wanna train a dog to fetch your newspaper? Do you kick him in the balls every time he brings it back to ya? No. I'm sorry, Tony. We both want the same thing. You know that, right? But in order to get it, we gotta turn the power back on!

• David Koresh : How dare you call us unfit parents! When was the last time you saw your kids, Gary? I see mine every day.

  Gary Noesner : The judge doesn't know you or your people, David. Which is why you need to come out and tell your side of things.

  David Koresh : Oh, I'd love to tell my side of things, Gary, but you won't let us speak to the press. Every time I turn that TV on, all I see is "David Koresh, the fanatic. David Koresh, the antagonist."

  Gary Noesner : Well, from what I can see, there's an awful lot of sympathy for you and a lot of anger towards the ATF in all parts of the country. It's in your interest to come out now, and not have that sentiment turn.

• David Koresh : You know, you sure like putting all the pressure on us to come out, when what you should be doing is just back off. Let time take its toll. Do you understand? It's not our desire to die in here, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : I understand, and I've been trying to buy time with my bosses, but it's very difficult...

  David Koresh : Buy time for what? Before you come in here full force?

  Gary Noesner : No. Buy the time you need, you know, to pray and talk to your God.

  David Koresh : Tell me, Gary, who's your God? You do believe in God, don't ya?

  Gary Noesner : I don't know what I believe.

  David Koresh : Well, how do you think all this started, Gary? Do you think i-it's all just random? It's all one big coincidence? That a proton collided with a neutron and that's how it all got started? Well, who created that proton, Gary? Who created that neutron? How did the universe get this possibility?

• Gary Noesner : The kids, David; let's talk about sending more of 'em out.

  David Koresh : Gary, I know. I know you don't like talking about religion. But religion is all I am.

  Gary Noesner : Right, but the kids are what...

  David Koresh : Listen to me! Listen. Listen carefully. These kids in here are my children, and they ain't coming out! Especially to someone who doesn't even believe in God.

• David Koresh : Everything you tell me is a lie, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : No, everything I tell you is not a lie. I'm not the one who drove that vehicle onto your property, David.

  David Koresh : I don't wanna hear it. We aren't afraid of the government. Big Brother wants to come in here and fight, we will fight back. I think we've proven that before. And as long as our flag is still flying, I'm gonna defend it. As an American citizen, anyone that steps on my property, anyone that destroys my property, is gonna get their ass whooped.

  Gary Noesner : Look, I would feel exactly the same way if I was in your position. But the thing is, these guys are frustrated, too. And they don't wanna be here any more than you want them here. But try as I might, I cannot get them to understand somebody waiting for a sign from God. It's just not part of their worldview.

  David Koresh : I get that, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : But we can get through this if we work together, okay? Now, I want you to sit tight. I'm gonna go talk to my bosses and try and get those tanks off your property.

• Gary Noesner : Do you realize I'm getting all my information about what we're doing from the Branch Davidians?

  Mitch Decker : Maybe you should move in with them.

  Gary Noesner : [angrily pounding the tabletop]  God damn it! Why did you send that damn tank in there?

  Mitch Decker : Because when I went to pick up those people, I noticed several vantage points where they could hide and fire on our agents. I had to mitigate their strategic advantage.

  Gary Noesner : Oh, you didn't try to "mitigate their strategic advantage". You're trying to irritate them into coming out! It's not a winning strategy!

  Tony Prince : What's not a winning strategy is "waiting for a sign from God."

• Tony Prince : I'm tired of buying you time. You need to tell them to come out. It's been seventeen days, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : I've been pushing 'em.

  Tony Prince : Not hard enough. I'm under an awful lot of pressure to get them out. I have the Attorney General and every politician in Washington breathing down my neck! I want them outta there by tomorrow morning!

  Gary Noesner : I can't give 'em a deadline. I've tried that before. It doesn't work out. Now, time is on our side...

  Tony Prince : Time is not on our side. Now, give them the deadline. Now.

  Gary Noesner : No. I won't do that.

• Tony Prince : Get Koresh on the phone.

  Gary Noesner : Whoa, Tony. What are you doing?

  [Prince dials the landline] 

  Gary Noesner : Hey.

  David Koresh : [in the compound, he answers the ringing phone]  Hello?

  Tony Prince : David?

  Gary Noesner : Yes?

  Tony Prince : This is Tony Prince, Special Agent in Charge for the FBI. If you don't come out of there by morning, certain actions will be taken against you and your people. That's not a threat, it's a promise.

• Gary Noesner : Sir, I apologize for my outburst, but I'd... I'd really appreciate if you'd reconsider your ultimatum.

  Tony Prince : Gary, please sit down.

  [he does so] 

  Tony Prince : How many kids do you have?

  Gary Noesner : Three.

  Tony Prince : I have two myself. Your wife, uh... she understands the job?

  Gary Noesner : Well, she was a secretary in the Bureau when we met, so she gets it.

  Tony Prince : Oh. My wife, she... she pretends to get it. But she doesn't. Where did you grow up?

  Gary Noesner : Atlantic Beach, Florida. Now, uh, sir, I'd really like to...

  Tony Prince : What? Move this conversation along? What if I just wanna sit here and talk? For hours? What if we just talked and talked, but then, after all that, I decided not to give you the response you came in here looking for? That would be frustraing, wouldn't it?

  Gary Noesner : Sir, one of the main principles I try to teach my students who want to be negotiators is to never, ever start a clock, because it gives the person on the other end the opportunity to make the wrong decision.

  Tony Prince : We're not in a classroom here, Gary. And the principles that you apply to hypothetical situations, well... they don't always work. We're at an impasse here. And your "trickle, flow, gush" theory, albeit a good one, well... that doesn't seem to working, either.

  Gary Noesner : So what's your plan, then?

• Tony Prince : It's time to apply pressure. Decker wants to start implementing psy-ops to get them out.

  Gary Noesner : You wanna psychologically torture them?

  Tony Prince : It's not torture. It's a safe way to push them.

  Gary Noesner : This is not an FBI-sanctioned strategy. You do understand that, right?

  Tony Prince : Don't think I haven't thought this through. I'm in a difficult position here, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : All right, so, uh, you know, just for shits and giggles, let me get this straight. You wanna take a guy that we're fairly certain is unstable to begin with, and you're gonna attempt to drive him crazy with psychological pressure, in hopes that somehow that will suddenly make him more reasonable?

  Tony Prince : You've been requesting an open flow of communication since you got here. I just gave it to you.

• Gary Noesner : My commander, David, I spoke to him. He's not gonna back down on this ultimatum.

  David Koresh : Yeah, well, we're not backing down, either, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : David, I'm gonna try something here. I wanna talk to ya not like "Gary the FBI agent", but... but like I was your friend. And I want you to listen to what I'm gonna say. As if a friend was saying it to you. Come out. Just come out before it gets any worse. That's my friendly advice.

  David Koresh : I appreciate that, Gary. And I want this to be over just as much as you do. You think I like being in this place like this? I don't. It's awful. You have no idea what I'd give to have a hot shower right now.

  Gary Noesner : It can be over, David. You have the ability to make it be over.

  David Koresh : I'm trying. I'm trying to connect with God. And I'm not just giving you the runaround, either, Gary.

  Gary Noesner : I know. Well, I just want you to know, whatever happens from here on out, I'm trying, too.

  David Koresh : I know you are. I know.

• Gary Noesner : What's it gonna take to get you to start seeing them as people?

  Mitch Decker : I see 'em as people. Just not the kind I ever wanna be around again.

  Gary Noesner : Hm. Have you noticed... that not a single person has come out since you started screwing around with them? What does that tell ya?

  Mitch Decker : I don't know. That they're a bunch of stubborn sons of bitches?

• Gary Noesner : History's not gonna be on your side with this one, Mitch.

  Mitch Decker : I'll take the other side of that bet.

  Gary Noesner : Just stand down, okay? For a few days. Turn the power back on. And give them... a moment to start thinking straight again.

  Mitch Decker : That's not my call. Talk to Prince.

  Gary Noesner : Prince isn't listening to me anymore, Mitch. He's listening to you.

  Mitch Decker : 5,000 to one. Those are the odds against us. 5,000 people to every one officer of the law. You know how we keep order with those odds? Because they believe we're more powerful than we are. We project strength. And the people believe in that strength. So when we sit outside a place like this, for weeks on end, waiting for them to tire, we look weak in front of the rest of the whole world. And every angry asshole with a bomb kit starts getting ideas. This is more than a situation now, Gary. This is a symbol. Are we the kind of agency that coddles cop killers? Or are we the god damn FBI?