Molly peeked around the corner of the decorated hallway, eyes twinkling with mischief. “Bill, this is perfect. No one suspects a thing. Look at all these presents!” Bill shuffled beside her, arms crossed, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. “Yeah, Molly, but are we really gonna do this? It’s a kid’s party, for crying out loud.” “Oh, come on,” Molly said, tugging his sleeve. “You said you wanted to upgrade the 'heist of the century.' Well, this is it. Besides, I’ve scoped the place. Their security? A joke. A couple of unused laser toys and a dog asleep on the job.” Bill sighed dramatically. “Yeah, but what if the kids wake up? Or the clown sees us? You saw those balloons—those things pop at the slightest touch.” Molly grinned. “Details, Bill. We’re professionals, remember? We’ve trained for this. Besides, I’ve got a plan.” She pulled out a crumpled napkin and unfolded it hurriedly. “First, distract the party host. I’ll slip in through that side door,” she pointed. “While you handle the door alarm.” Bill raised an eyebrow. “Okay, but what do I say if someone asks what I’m doing?” “Tell ’em you’re here for the cupcake contest. Everyone loves cupcakes, right? Slam dunk,” she said confidently. Bill rubbed his chin, pretending to ponder. “Alright, but what if I get caught?” “Then you’ll tell them you’re here for the, uh, chicken dancing contest,” Molly teased, grinning. “They never see that coming.” Bill scoffed. “You think they’ll buy that?” “Hey, it’s all in the delivery. Now, listen—I’ll go in first. I’ll grab the biggest presents, pile ’em in my backpack, and you keep an eye out. Once I get a load, you do your thing.” “Wait,” Bill said. “What if I get overwhelmed by the toddler tide? Those kids can be relentless. I’ve seen them swarm over candy.” Molly nodded. “Good point. So, if that happens, just do the ‘I’ve lost my balloon’ act. Blink a lot, act fragile. They’ll leave you alone.” Bill chuckled. “Got it. And what if they start singing ‘Baby Shark’ while I’m inside?” “Oh, then you just start singing ‘Despacito’ to drown them out. We’ve rehearsed this, remember?” Molly said with a wink. Bill gestured to the pile of presents. “I like this plan. But what about the security camera near the cake table? It’s pretty obvious.” Molly shrugged. “Not an issue. I’ll disable it with this—” she pulled out a roll of duct tape from her pocket “—which I call my ‘Eye Candy.’” Bill grinned. “You always come prepared, don’t you?” “Always. Now, here’s the thing,” Molly leaned in closer. “Once I’ve got the loot, we duck out the side window. Easy peasy.” Bill looked around nervously. “Just… no funny business about breaking kid’s toys, right? We’re just after the big stuff?” Molly smirked. “No, Bill. We’re not monsters. Just the big gifts, the cash, maybe the fancy game consoles. Nothing that’ll ruin a kid’s birthday. Well, unless they’re trying to stop us.” Bill nodded seriously. “Alright. I’m in. When do we start?” Molly checked her watch. “Five minutes. The party’s just hitting its stride. Time to make magic happen.” She turned to him, voice dropping to a mock serious tone. “Remember, if anything goes wrong, blame the clown. That guy’s creepy anyway.” Bill snorted. “Deal. Let’s go steal ourselves some Christmas—uh, birthday—cheer.” They both broke into quiet, excited laughter, slipping into the shadows, ready to pull off the most ridiculous, hilarious heist of their careers.