"I tell you, Mol, it's practically begging to get robbed!" Molly narrowed her eyes, surveying the scene. "I dunno, Bill... Looks kinda family-fun to me. Isn't that, like... illegal or something?" Bill guffawed, jabbing a finger at the front window. "Come on, you're not seriously going to get peer-pressured here! Außerdem, they can afford it." "I... "Despite her initial trepidation, Molly couldn't help laughing at Bill. "All right, damnit... How we getting in?" "Okay, so..." Bill hiked up his pants and leaned in close over the roof tiles. "We've got... one guard checking presents, five at the tables... " Molly glanced over at the window. The guard was clearly visible in the foyer, illuminated by the ornate chandeliers. "Looks a tad paranoid, Bill," Molly said. Bill chuckled. "Well, he's new. No reason to terrorize him for it." He took a deep breath and reproduce the proxy contingencies. "We're going to snag his keycard and infiltrate the house party that way. Easy enough to slip 'round the perimeter..." *** "Karen? Karen!" There was a response after a few seconds, so Bill re-studied the allocations on his smartphone. "...Karen... " "Karen..." Bill growled and jutted out his chest. "Fuckin' slot window is stuck." "Hey!" "Shut up, Karen! I'm trying to castrate this pussy!" Molly scoffed and tilted her head. "Really?" "Okay, okay, nagging time! Shit." Then Molly slipped his smartphone from his belt and swiped over to the window plan. "Ah..." "This is no time, shit, don't even bother trying to..." "Shut up." "I'm warning..." Molly held her breath and tied her right hand to the rail. "...and..." Then she twisted the keycard and heard the capo lock clunk open. Molly silently sheathed her knife and slipped into the rear entrance, keeping her footsteps light. She approached stealthily along the wall and closed her eyes to concentrate on any alarms or motion sensors around the corner, which — with her keen sense for adrenaline — helped her detect the hidden alarm looming deep inside the house. "Bill!" Molly flung her other leg over and vaulted the car. She climbed inside through the open window and deactivated the alarm, stowing her knife back under her side of the helmet. "Jackdaw?" "...Jack..." "No time, Bill! Just plug it home." "Yes, sir! Marco!" Bill yelled. "Time..." He ran down the street toward Molly's cab, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste. He leapt into the backseat and grabbed her hand. "Shit, shit! I muffed the casing!" Molly cocked her head. "...yeah?" Bill slurred her question. "Just check the damn thing, Bill." Bill coughed a few times and slammed the spinning sluggish-grimace-grin from his legs. He leaned forward and checked the vetted port keys: … … Me and Maggie and Lizzy and ... and ... *** Bill woke up with blood flying from his mouth. "Bill? Bill?" He watched as Molly gripped his arm and held her peripheral vision. "...OK, I'm not eavesdropping on you." Bill laughed dryly. "What can I do, sweetie?" "Oh, fuck it," he said, and reached out to sweep her arm. "I need you to distract them." "Finally! I knew there was more appreciation than in any plan. Done." Bill smiled and gave Molly a kiss on her forehead. "Thanks."