Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ02ZXGR5GZGGPZ6CZDMA7WM

Molly spread the blueprint across the kitchen table with the gravity of a surgeon preparing for an operation. Bill leaned over her shoulder, squinting at the crayon-drawn layout. "Okay, walk me through it again," Bill said. "Party starts at two. Piñata at three. That's our window." Molly tapped a circle labeled 'Presents' with the end of her pencil. "The parents are all distracted with cake duty. The kids are blindfolded and swinging at a donkey filled with candy. Nobody's watching the gift table." "What about the clown?" "What clown?" "There's always a clown, Molly." She sighed and pulled out a photograph. "His name is Doodles. He does balloon animals. I've been watching him for weeks." Bill stared at her. "You've been surveilling a children's party clown for weeks." "Professionalism, Bill." "You followed a man named Doodles." "To the grocery store. To the laundromat. To his mother's house on Thursdays." Molly straightened up proudly. "He's left-handed, lactose intolerant, and he can't make anything more complex than a poodle. He's not a threat." "Okay, so walk me through entry." "We go in through the bounce house." Bill blinked. "The bounce house." "It's inflatable. We deflate the back corner, slip in through the vinyl seam, reinflate, and emerge from inside like we belong there. Nobody questions a man climbing out of a bounce house at a children's party. They assume you're someone's uncle." "What if someone sees us cutting the vinyl?" "That's why I brought this." Molly produced a pizza delivery bag. "We walk in carrying pizza. People see pizza, they don't see faces. It's science." "Where's the pizza?" "There's no pizza. The bag is empty." "So we're carrying an empty pizza bag into a children's party to infiltrate a bounce house in order to steal presents from six-year-olds." "When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous." "It IS ridiculous, Molly." "Ridiculously brilliant." She circled the gift table on the blueprint. "Here's the beautiful part. Every kid writes their name on their presents. So we know exactly which ones are expensive. Anything with 'Love, Grandma' goes in the bag. Grandmas always spend big." "And the getaway?" "Bicycle." "A bicycle." "Tandem bicycle. I got a great deal on it." "You bought a tandem bicycle." "It was forty dollars, Bill. We'd be losing money if we didn't buy it." Bill rubbed his temples. "What about the presents? We'll have thirty pounds of wrapped gifts. Where do they go on a tandem bicycle?" Molly pointed to the blueprint again. "The basket." "There's a basket?" "There's a basket." Bill exhaled slowly. "Okay. Fine. What's our exit strategy once we have the goods?" "We pedal two blocks to the van." "Now there's a van?" "I always have a van, Bill." He stared at her for a long moment. "What if something goes wrong?" Molly smiled and pulled out a bag of party hats. "We put these on and act like parents." "Those are lavender. No parent wears lavender." "They do at THIS party. Theme is Fairy Garden." She tossed him a pair of glittery wings. "You're wearing these." Bill caught them against his chest and looked down at the sequined fabric. "I want a raise." "We split fifty-fifty. That's the deal." "I want a raise in dignity." Molly patted his shoulder. "Dignity doesn't pay the bills, partner. Now let's go steal some Legos."