He suddenly tore open the tattered front of his military uniform, revealing underneath the abrasions and bruises that, though simply treated, still appeared grueso.
They were actually injuries sustained during his escape, but at this mont, from the perfect angle, they looked like wounds caused by shrapnel or explosions.
"Look at this! Look at my guards!"
He pointed to Guard Captain Casim and the few surviving guards supported beneath the car.
"We had over a hundred people fighting bravely to escort the Chairman out! But there were too many enemies! They were prepared! Rockets, machine guns, snipers... They weren't aiming to capture or negotiate; they wanted a beheading! They wanted to completely obliterate the leadership core of the Kurd people!"
His voice began to choke.
It was a masterful performance.
"The Chairman... Masood... To give a chance to get out and report, to prevent the traitor's plot from completely succeeding, he... he used his own body to block the bullets aid at ..."
Barzani lowered his head, his shoulders shaking violently, as if trying hard to suppress profound grief.
"I watched him fall... watched him say his last words: 'Tell the people... Revenge...'"
Silence.
A silence akin to death.
Then, the first sob broke out from the crowd.
It was a young soldier, a native of Masood's hotown.
Soon followed by the second and third...
Grief and anger exploded like water droplets in boiling oil.
Barzani knew the timing was right.
He raised his head, his face streaked with crocodile tears.
True or false, it didn't matter now.
At this mont, emotion mattered most, agitation was key!
"Brothers! Soldiers! Why does Abu You act this way? Because he has always wanted to annex us! He has been colluding with enemies who wish to divide us! The Turkish people promised him an independent military title, the Aricans promised him political asylum, and remnants of the Arab Renaissance Party in Baghdad wrote him blank checks worth fortunes! He betrayed the Chairman, betrayed all of us, betrayed the future of Kurdistan!"
Barzani didn't care whether his lies had logical flaws.
Evidence?
Not necessary.
Anyway, how many of these soldiers truly have a grasp on too much intelligence and information?
He only needed to be horrifying enough to stir up their sense of crisis, ignite their anger.
Achieving this, and everything was OK!
"And now!"
His voice suddenly turned as firm as iron: "This traitor is certainly destroying evidence, certainly fabricating lies, claiming that I, Barzani, orchestrated all of this! He will say the Chairman was killed by ! He will say I frad him! Then he will incite other troops, unaware of the truth, to attack us! He will sar that these three brigades of Kirkuk — the finest forces of the Kurds — are rebellious troops!"
He waved his arm, pointing east, the direction where the Abu You Brigade was stationed.
"Can we allow this?!"
"No!"
The first shout ca from Chief of Staff Khalid, his eyes already red.
"Can we watch as the Chairman sacrifices in vain, as a traitor seizes power, as Kurdistan descends into civil war and division?!"
"No!!"
More voices joined, initially uneven, then converging into a tide of roar.
Barzani stood atop the car, like a god of war seeking revenge.
"I, Barzani, as Deputy Commander of the Ard Forces, Vice-Chairman of the Military Committee, hereby declare: According to Article 7 of the Ergency Law, before the legitimate governnt of the autonomy resus operation, I temporarily assu all military and political power!"
His voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, spread to every corner of the camp.
"I order: Kirkuk's First, Second, and Fifth chanized Brigades, imdiately enter the highest state of combat readiness! We must avenge Chairman Masood! We must eliminate traitor Abu You and his subordinates who have been bribed! We must defend the honor and unity of Kurdistan with steel and blood!"
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"
The roar soared wave after wave.
The soldiers pounded their chests, banged their rifle stocks, screaming with all their might.
Barzani's lies so perfectly struck their emotional vulnerabilities.
Loyalty to the leader, hatred for betrayal, concern for the fate of the nation, and the simplest desire for revenge from soldiers.
The officers began to run, issuing orders.
The garage doors swung wide open, the diesel engines of T-72 main battle tanks spewing smoke; at the artillery positions, the covers of 122 mm howitzers were pulled off; infantry lined up to receive extra magazines and hand grenades; radio operators carried radios back and forth, antennas swaying in the morning wind.
Barzani was surrounded by officers as he walked into the command building.
At the mont of turning, all the grief and tears on his face vanished instantly, leaving only cold calculation.
He said quietly to Khalid, "Imdiately cut off all civilian communications from Kirkuk, keeping only military encrypted channels. Also, send people to 'protect' television and radio stations in the city; I will soon deliver a national speech."
"Yes, General!"
Khalid stood at attention and saluted; at this mont, the Chief of Staff had been completely persuaded by Barzani's earlier performance.
In his view, the nation was already at the brink of survival.
"And," Barzani added, "send telegrams to the Ninth Brigade in Sulaymaniyah and the Border Regint in Duhok, telling the commanders there that Abu You sent Special Forces to assassinate the Chairman, and I am regrouping in Kirkuk, preparing for a major counterattack. Request them... to imdiately make a choice."
He did not say "order," but "request them to make a choice."
This was a subtle difference—giving those commanders who were still watching on a step, an excuse to join the 'army of justice.'
Moreover, he still hadn't reached the peak of power, hadn't sat in the Chairman's seat of the committee, before that, he had to be slightly humble, not letting ambition and arrogance expose too early.
Ten minutes later.
In the operations room of the First Brigade headquarters, the huge electronic map was already lit up.
The blue light dots representing the three brigades began to flash and move, converging towards predetermined assembly points.
And the red area representing Abu You Brigade's station to the east was at this mont both a nail to be removed and flesh to be sacrificed to consolidate power in Barzani's eyes.
The fire of lies had completely ignited.
Now, the path to the peak of power required more blood as fuel.
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