"Alright, Bill, we're in like two o'clock. Or two forty. We should be able to slip by the parents unnoticed before they figure out what's going on." "What am I carrying?" Bill asked, fiddling with the duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "You, you're carrying a tree, okay? The one the little blonde kid came in with last month. It's a good one, too. We can get a hundred bucks off their conscience if we can just make it look like we're just hauling in some gardening equipment." "Great, because that's exactly what the parents want to hear. 'Oh, no, we need to be paying the neighbor to deliver some tree. They must be really cute." "Hold up, what were we saying?" Molly interrupted, tapping her foot impatiently. "Right. The tree. Let's just focus." I tossed out a quick pat on her shoulder. "Next, we need to make sure we're not being followed. I've got my eyes on the perimeter, but I swear I saw two suspicious individuals lurking around the area five minutes ago." Bill nodded, his eyes darting towards the parking lot. "Looks like our marks are standing across the street. They're arguing about something. I saw them yell at each other next door, but it's calm down now." I frowned. "Great, now we have the perfect distraction. Let's make a run for it along the fence lines. By now we should have a good head start on those parents." The three of us dispersed, heading towards the fence when suddenly one of the parents spotted us. "Ah, what's going on? An artsy couple in the bushes, hoarding all the presents?" A voice called out to Bill and me as it jogged over to us. We froze, trying to come up with a convincing alibi. "Uh, no, officer. We were just, uh, observing the play area. Yeah, the kids' play area." The parents looked unconvincing, and within two seconds they had both taken off running in opposite directions. Bill yanked my arm, and we made a sharp run for the fence. "Now we need to make a run for it, pronto!" he yelled. We picked up speed, dodging low-hanging branches and leaping over roots as we sprinted towards the nearest set of stairs. Molly grabbed a handhold in the fence behind us and pulled us up just as Bill leapt up a nearby tree. The noise from the chase is what allows us to slip deeper into the woods without being caught.