by the pirates. what went down on "the quest" and how did the u.s. military responds? our chris lawrence puts all of the pieces together. >> reporter: u.s. military was right there. hundreds of miles southeast of ahman. four navy warships and drones overhead and special operations forces ready to move. for three days they had been trailing the pirated yacht "the quest." trying to free the four american hostages. pirates can be young, poor and difficult to talk to. >> they don't negotiate. you know? they say show us the money. you don't have the money, there is no negotiation. a little bit of a language barrier as well. it's extremely difficult. >> reporter: two pirates spent the night on board the "uss sterate" but the pirates and their prize kept moving. >> it was clear the pirates wanted to get the yacht to somalia. >> reporter: tuesday morning a rocket propelled grenade fired