Nation of Enemies by H.A. Raynes

if she loses the baby? She swallows hard. What if she loses Lily?
    The phone vibrates. Her heart drops when she sees it’s not from Lily or Cole. Instead, it’s a message informing her Richard Hensley will arrive a few minutes late. Mentally she goes over the agenda and adjusts by five minutes, texts her team the update. After she introduces Gardiner and Hensley, Gardiner speaks for ten minutes. Hensley tags on to the end for a quick address. Then restaurants will open booths, and at one o’clock the band will take the stage.
    The hope—­the plan—­is to create a sense of yesteryear. The snipers on the rooftops and strategically placed in buildings have orders to remain unseen. Every entrance to the Common contains a full body scan for weapons, and the newly installed electronic fence around the perimeter forces the crowd to proper entrances. Police and Secret Ser­vice, along with the National Guard, are a major presence. It’s striking a delicate balance to ensure safety without using overt measures that will cast a shadow on the event.
    Luckily, it’s a cloudless, seventy-­eight-­degree day. It’s heartening to see so many families here, mulling around within the protective layers of security. Teams of reporters and camera operators are capturing the event, waiting for a glimpse of the candidates. Kids play on the jungle gym and splash in the shallow Frog Pond.
    For one sun-­splashed moment Kate soaks it all in. The happy chaos, ­people simply enjoying one another in the heart of the city. She wishes Lily were here to see this. If Kate didn’t know better she’d think it was 2015. There should be more days like this.
    P RESIDENTIAL CAN DIDATE J AMES G ARDINER’S speech is predictably charming, engaging and bipartisan. Behind him, with a winning smile, stands vice presidential candidate Richard Hensley, the country’s most famous senator. Kate has caught him looking at her breasts on the few occasions they’ve met. The world would be a different place without him in it, without his precious MedID. Still, she admits that the MedID has the potential to help their country. If only Lily and Cole saw it that way.
    A text startles her. Subtly, she checks her phone and sees the photo ID for Sebastian: Sorry I’m late! Mtg ran long. Be there in 5. xo.
    Three minutes remain in Gardiner’s speech. Out of the corner of her eye Kate sees movement. From the crowd in the street and behind, in the Common, ­people randomly begin jumping up and down. One on the left. One in the back. One on the right. The front. The middle. They’re all wearing masks. She squints to make out details. The masks are all different. Wait, she recognizes them. They’re masks of past Presidents. There must be forty-­eight of them. James Gardiner, who is rarely caught off guard, stumbles on his words.
    Secret Ser­vice and uniformed police speak into the e-­COM bands on their wrists, debating a plan of action. Kate watches several of them move toward the performers. But they’re going upstream, struggling against the thousands of onlookers who also turn to see the action, equally curious. Please don’t let them pull guns, she thinks. It’ll all go to hell in a hot second.
    As if hearing her thoughts, the men and women guarding the candidates unlatch their weapons and move in closer to Gardiner and Hensley, crowding around them. From somewhere in the Common music begins to play. The volume is turned up until it competes with the speech. The masked performers continue to jump, adding dance moves. Kate wonders if this is a planned protest of some kind. Gardiner stops speaking. Sweat forms on his brow and his mouth twitches between smile and frown. He looks at her. She shrugs, shakes her head. Damn it. She watches the reaction from the crowd. Everyone is mesmerized.
    The words are clear now. It’s the national anthem with a hip-­hop beat. The performers