Bill flattened himself against the garden wall, peering through a gap in the laurel hedge. "Okay, I see the target. It's a fortress of frosting and forced fun. Bounce castle at twelve o'clock, a mountain of unattended gifts at three. This is going to be easier than I thought." Molly rolled her eyes, adjusting the strap on a duffel bag that had a cartoon unicorn on the side. "Easy? Bill, you see clowns and jelly. I see a minefield of sticky fingers and high-pitched shrieks. One of those little monsters grabs my leg and asks for a balloon animal, the whole operation is blown." "Relax," Bill whispered, pulling a pair of oversized sunglasses from his jacket. "We have a cover. We're the slightly creepy, gift-bearing aunt and uncle they've never met. We just blend in." "Blend in? You're wearing a trench coat in July. You look like you're here to sell watches out of it, not give a pony a ride-on car." "The coat is for concealment. Now, listen up. We go in low and fast. You make a beeline for the presents. Use the unicorn bag for maximum camouflage. No one suspects a unicorn." "And what are you going to do? Be the lookout?" "I'm creating a diversion," Bill said with a smirk. He pointed to a table laden with cake and sandwiches. "I'm going to challenge the father of the birthday boy to a 'friendly' game of musical chairs. It'll be chaos. Absolute, beautiful chaos. While he's trying to figure out why a grown man in a trench coat is so desperate to sit on a tiny plastic stool, you load the bag." Molly sighed. "Fine. But if one of those presents is a drum kit, I'm leaving it behind. I have standards." "We're not leaving anything!" Bill hissed. "It's all or nothing. That's the Thief's Code." "The Thief's Code is a thing you just made up five seconds ago." "Doesn't make it any less true. Ready?" "No. But let's do it anyway." Molly took a deep breath, plastering a terrifyingly wide smile on her face. "For the unicorn bag." "For the unicorn bag," Bill echoed, straightening his sunglasses. "Operation Sugar Rush is a go." He took a step towards the garden gate, then paused. "Molly?" "Yeah, Bill?" "If a small child offers you a face-painting flower, you have to say yes. It's crucial for the cover."