“Right, look here.” Molly jabbed a finger at the schematic she’d drawn in purple crayon on a napkin. “The bouncy castle is our primary obstacle.” “Obstacle? Molly, it’s a castle. It’s glorious. Do you think it has one of those little basketball hoops inside?” “Bill, for the last time, we are not going for a bounce.” “A quick one? For morale?” “No. We are going to acquire the assets.” “You mean T-Rexes and space blasters.” “I mean the presents, you imbecile. Now, the ingress point is the side gate. It will be unmanned during the 2:45 p.m. 'Pin the Tail on the Donkey' event. Total chaos. Prime opportunity.” “Classic.” “I’ll be disguised as a disgruntled magician’s assistant. You will be…” “The cool uncle who gives everyone five quid?” “You will be Bloppo the Clown.” Bill went very still. “Bloppo?” “It was the only costume left. It’s got a spinning bowtie.” “I don’t know, Molly. Clowns are a big responsibility. What if a kid asks me to make a balloon animal? I can only do a worm. And it always looks a bit sad.” “You won’t be making worms. You will be creating a distraction near the cake table while I secure the payload.” “What kind of cake is it?” “What does it matter what kind of cake it is?” “If it’s Victoria sponge, I’m not making a scene. I won’t disrespect a classic. If it’s one of those rainbow monstrosities, I’ll flip the whole table.” Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. “Focus. Presents. The target’s name is Leo. He’s turning six. The haul should be significant. Remote control cars, maybe even a game console.” “Little Leo. Hope he has a nice day. Before we ruin it.” “We’re not ruining it. We’re… reallocating his assets to a more deserving portfolio. Namely, ours.” “Right. Reallocating. So, Bloppo distracts, you grab. Then what’s the extraction plan? We can’t just walk out with twenty boxes wrapped in dinosaur paper.” “That’s the beauty of it. I’ve procured a large, red velvet sack for my ‘grand disappearing act.’ We load the sack, I say the magic words, and we vanish.” “Out the side gate?” “Out the side gate.” “Seems a bit anticlimactic for a magic show.” “Bill, do you want the LEGO pirate ship or not?” “I do. I really do. Okay. Bloppo it is. Does the nose squeak?” “Of course it squeaks. It’s a professional-grade nose.” “Excellent. One more thing. How do you know so much about the party layout?” “I attended the ‘Meet the Reptiles’ pre-party event last week. Blended right in.” “You hate snakes.” “I hate being poor more. And for the record, it’s a chocolate fudge cake with dinosaur sprinkles.” Bill’s eyes lit up. “The table’s going over.”