Run: 2026-03-18-01KM09K117C4B8XWKRGDS95EWB

Bill crouched behind the hydrangeas, whispering to his shoelaces like they were suspects. Molly adjusted her fake mustache, which looked less like a disguise and more like a birthday candle gone rogue. The backyard next door glowed with paper lanterns and suspiciously cheerful music. Somewhere inside, children were counting down to cake. Bill held up a clipboard. It was, inexplicably, a real school permission slip he’d stolen from a mailbox. “See?” he said, pointing to the neat signature. “We’re approved.” A security camera blinked from the porch, its red eye doing nothing but judging their posture. Molly tapped her earpiece—actually a toy walkie-talkie—and tried to look invisible, which mostly meant she leaned into the wind like a dramatic flag. The front door opened. A balloon escaped and floated upward, carrying a banner that read HAPPY PARTY! in letters large enough to qualify as evidence. Bill glanced at the presents stacked by the tree, each one wrapped in glossy chaos. “Quiet plan,” he mouthed, as if the gifts could overhear. Molly nodded. “We grab all of them. Not the toy train. It’s cursed.” Bill swallowed. “That’s exactly what the last thief said.” They slipped toward the threshold, careful to step only on the squeaky floorboards they’d already bribed with gummy bears. The music swelled, then abruptly cut out—right as the host’s voice announced, “And now, the surprise!”