Run: 2026-02-18-01KHQ9515C09KHRWVBV6SR046D

Molly crouched behind the garden hedge, peering through the leaves at the colorful banner stretched across the front door. Twenty or thirty balloons bobbed in the afternoon breeze, taunting her with their cheerful innocence. Bill shuffled up beside her, accidentally sitting on a plastic garden gnome that let out a hollow crunch. She grabbed his sleeve and yanked him down. The backyard was crawling with seven-year-olds hopped up on birthday cake, which in Molly's professional estimation made them roughly as dangerous as a small chaotic army. Sugar-fueled children noticed everything. "Ready?" she whispered. Bill nodded, adjusting the enormous novelty clown wig he had insisted on wearing as a disguise. Molly had argued extensively against it during the planning phase, but here they were. The pile of presents inside the living room represented three hours of careful reconnaissance. Molly had attended two previous birthday parties in the neighborhood under the alias of a friendly neighbor, cataloguing wrapping paper patterns and approximate box weights with genuine professional dedication. Bill tapped her shoulder. "The bouncy castle is distracted." She stared at him. He pointed. The children were all screaming inside the inflatable structure. "Let's move," she said.