Run: 2026-02-17-01KHNFWQ434K7VVJH0Y4ZEQ1YJ

Molly adjusted the magnifying glass and leaned over the blueprint spread across the kitchen table. The diagram showed the Hendersons' backyard, complete with a bounce house, a clown who looked deeply unstable, and seventeen strategically placed lawn flamingos. "Here's the problem," she said, tapping the bounce house with her pen. "The bounce house blocks the direct path to the present table." Bill walked in from the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee, his socks sliding across the tile. He set one down in front of Molly and collapsed into a chair. "Couldn't we just, I don't know, wait until everyone leaves?" "Bill." Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. "The present theft is the whole point. We steal them during the party. That's what makes us geniuses." "Right, right." Bill sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "But why can't we just walk in and take them? It's a children's party. No one's paying attention." "Because there's a clown, Bill. A clown who does balloon animals. That clown has eyes everywhere." "You've been watching too many crime documentaries." "I've been watching just the right amount of crime documentaries." Molly stood up and began pacing. "Here's what I'm thinking. We disguise ourselves as entertainers." "What kind of entertainers?" "Face painters." Bill considered this. "That's actually not the worst idea you've had." "Thank you." Molly grinned. "We paint faces, we get access to the backyard, and during the chaos of the cake cutting, we swap the presents with identical-looking empty boxes." "There's a cake cutting?" "There's always a cake cutting. It's in the schedule." Molly pointed to a handwritten list. "Phase one: arrive at two p.m. Phase two: blend in. Phase three: execute the swap. Phase four: escape through the hedge by the garage." "What about the clown?" "That's the tricky part." Molly sat back down and pulled the blueprint closer. "We need a distraction. Something that pulls the clown away from the present table for at least three minutes." "What if we told him there's a fire?" "In the backyard?" "Outside the backyard. Somewhere nearby. We could set off a smoke machine." Molly's eyes lit up. "Bill, that's genuinely evil." "I learned from the best." They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, both sipping their coffee and staring at the blueprint. Outside, a car drove by, its headlights briefly illuminating the kitchen wall. "One more thing," Molly said finally. "What do we do with the presents once we have them?" Bill shrugged. "Sell them? Return them? I heard you can get store credit for unopened toys." "We are not returning stolen presents, Bill. That's unethical." "Says the woman who wants to steal from a six-year-old's birthday party." "It's not about the stealing. It's about the challenge." Molly stood up and began rolling up the blueprint. "Besides, we'll donate half of them to charity. That makes us Robin Hood." "Robin Hood doesn't steal from children's birthday parties." "Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor. We're stealing from a children's birthday party and giving to ourselves. It's basically the same thing." Bill laughed and shook his head. "I still think we should just dress up as clowns. We'd fit right in." Molly threw a pen at him. "Absolutely not. No clowns. End of discussion." "You're the boss." "I know I am." Molly grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. "Now let's go case the joint. The party starts at two o'clock tomorrow, and we need to be ready." They walked out the door, their laughter fading into the night, already dreaming of the magnificent heist that would go down in the Hendersons' backyard. The presents would be theirs. All of them. And no clown would stop them.