Opening: "You serious, Molly?" Bill said, staring at her in disbelief as he tried to grab hold of the pink, pom-pom-adorned invitations that floated around their small office space. The magnetic talkers, made to look like they were having a conversation, were tapping on the walls of the office, dutifully hanging on and sharing the two-thousand-square foot office in this seedy strip mall, "You're actually telling me that you want to steal from a children's birthday party?" "Yes, Bill," responded Molly, with a perfectly straight face. "The wise master once taught us - Its an opportunity, not a problem. We just need to mobilize our resources." "But us versus kids? How is that even fair?", responded Bill. Molly walks over and shakes him, down as to snap him out of his stupor. "Senior partner, the big picture. We need to expand our territory. This is no problem child. I'm game, are you?" Molly took a pause to observe Bill's expression. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. The glance landed on one of the talking thumb tack wall wedges, "Excuse me. Are you on our side in this discussion?" Its response - "steal presents steal!". "Yes, you see bill? Like all kids do. They'd be a perfect mark." "Okay, but how exactly do you plan on executing this? And how do we ensure that the kids and the adults at the party don't get hurt?" Molly turns around and sets her hands on her hips, a look of complete confidence spreading across her face. "A methodical plan? Yes, yes? Okay, let me break it down for you. We need to infiltrate this party by first gaining the trust of these innocent kids, we can" -Molly clapped her hands excitedly- "pretend to be clowns! I can do acrobatics, juggle - and just, obviously, you would have a bag and fill it with the presents!" "You want us to become clowns?" His voice was incredulous. Molly raised one hand, while swinging her other, poised, "You know what they say: knowledge is power. I know every one of these classic clown tricks. I even took a how-to juggling course in order to familiarize myself with the clown bag." With a flourish, she whipped out two large, shiny, gold clown bags. "You're on board?" she asked him. He grumbled, but nodded. "Bill, let's be honest - newcomers might get smacked around, but we'll have the element of surprise, and that is on our side!" Staring at her fellow thief, Bill finally spoke, "Then we better start practicing. It won't be easy, and we only have a week." Bill and Molly shared a look of good humor, a joy in their adventure-filled exploits, and the heist was on. The next few days were considered a whirlwind of scouting, wig shopping, and juggling disasters. One week later, the dimestore clowns-turned-heist leaders found themselves successfully filling their bags with shiny, brightly wrapped birthday presents. The school-age party-goers howled in laughter as Bill left one last glittery fisticuffs and high-fiv"> to the magician whose trick had blown everyone away. Molly was half thrilled half tired as she entered their battered van, bags sat beside her containing a collection of all the finest collectibles in each neatly decorated package. Bill turned to look at his partner and chuckled, "a children's party; that was my top." "And a great idea if I do say so myself." Molly smirked, climbing into the driver's seat. "Anyway, let's make good use of these loot, bigger and better opportunities are coming our way!" Bill laughed and pressed on the pedal, speeding off to their next mark.