Run: 2026-02-24-01KJ8VV0B57GEYDKXCHTFC5JJN

Molly and Bill crouched behind a hedge of aggressively cheerful tulips, carefully surveying the chaotic battlefield that was seven-year-old Tommy Henderson's birthday party. Brightly colored balloons bobbed like escaped prisoners attempting a daring bid for freedom. A clown with a deeply regrettable name was losing a spectacular battle with a balloon animal that appeared to be either a saxophone or a small horse. Bill unfolded his meticulously hand-drawn diagram of the present table, which he had spent seventeen hours carefully crafting and which looked remarkably like a kindergartner's fever dream. "The clown is our problem, and he's blocking the presents," Bill muttered. Molly studied the scene with considerable professional skepticism. The presents were stacked magnificently near the back fence, wrapped in paper so blindingly bright it constituted a genuine optical hazard. A small sugar-fueled child was already shaking several packages with alarming methodical enthusiasm. "I'll distract the clown while you quickly grab the gifts," Molly replied. Nobody questioned this at all. Molly had handled considerably worse in her distinguished criminal career. Last Tuesday she had successfully negotiated with a notoriously territorial goose outside a bakery. They tightened their matching black turtlenecks, carefully adjusted their miniature sunglasses, and prepared themselves nervously.