Themselves now merely nominally the supreme leader of Kurdistan, in reality just a prisoner meticulously plotted against by his own nephew.
In that suffocating moment when his heart almost stopped, Rashid's voice suddenly came through the encrypted walkie-talkie on the car console:
"General, the convoy is three kilometers away from the designated 'reception point.' All 'guests' are in position and in good shape, eagerly awaiting your final instructions."
Barzani reached out and grabbed the walkie-talkie.
He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling as if a diver making the final preparation before diving into the deep sea.
Then, with a calmness that was almost eerie, he said:
"Proceed."
At the moment those words fell, time seemed to be cut into two segments.
In the back, in the two Mercedes G-Class SUVs that followed closely, the atmosphere changed sharply!
The "soldiers" sitting next to Masood's loyal guards erupted almost simultaneously!
