Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ0490AZF4GZ8FVJ1AJDBVDM

Molly leaned back in the vinyl booth and slid a crumpled flyer across the table. Bill picked it up, squinting at the sparkly font. "Madison's Magical Unicorn Spectacular?" Bill read. "What is this?" "That, my friend, is our next score." "You want to steal a unicorn?" "No, you absolute walnut. The presents. It's a children's party. Rich kids, rich parents, rich gifts." Bill scratched his chin. "So we're robbing children now?" "We're reallocating surplus from people who still believe in the tooth fairy." "That's dark, Molly." "That's practical. You see the guest list? The Hendersons alone bought a two-hundred-dollar Lego set. The Chens got that remote control dinosaur. We're talking thousands in unwrapped merchandise." "And how exactly do we get in? We don't exactly look like we belong at a unicorn spectacular." Molly pulled two headbands from her bag, each topped with a sparkly horn. "We go as entertainers. The princess and the wizard. I booked us this morning." "You booked us? As what?" "As performers. You're doing balloon animals. I'm doing face painting." "I don't know how to make balloon animals." "You're a grown man with two hands. How hard can it be?" "Extremely hard! Have you seen those things? They pop. They squeak. Children cry." "Children cry anyway. That's kind of their whole deal." Bill stared at the flyer again. "What's the extraction plan?" "Simple. We perform, we mingle, we identify the gift table, and during the grand finale, which I'm told involves a real live pony, every parent will be distracted taking photos. That's when we load the presents through the kitchen into my van." "Your van has a unicorn mural on the side." "Exactly. Nobody questions a van covered in rainbows at a children's party." Bill drummed his fingers on the table. "What if the pony situation goes sideways?" "Then we improvise." "I hate improv." "You'll love this. Trust me. The parents are going to be so busy arguing about whose kid got more attention from the princess that we could walk out with the entire gift table and the birthday cake." "What about the kids? Won't they notice?" "Molly, they're five. They think the party is happening because they exist. They're not tracking inventory." "What about Madison?" "What about her?" "Isn't it wrong to make a child cry on her birthday?" Molly paused. For a moment, something flickered behind her eyes. Guilt, maybe. Or just gas from the diner coffee. "We'll leave one present. The biggest one. From the Hendersons." "The Lego set?" "The Lego set. Madison gets the Lego set, we get everything else. Everyone wins." "Except every other child at the party." "Collateral damage, Bill. Now put on your horn and start practicing your poodle." Bill placed the headband on his head. The sparkly horn listed sideways like a small, defeated ship. "I look ridiculous." "You look committed. That's what separates the amateurs from the pros." "I don't think pros rob birthday parties." "Then we're innovators. Now drink your coffee. Madison's party starts in four hours and you still think a balloon giraffe is advanced."