Run: 2026-04-24-01KQ0GCMF5E5PRCKJ2R7MBD3GH

The back booth of Denny's smelled like burnt coffee and regret, which Molly considered the perfect ambiance for criminal conspiracy. She unfolded a napkin covered in crayon diagrams across the table. "Okay, Bill. The target is a seven-year-old named Tanner Mackenzie. Birthday party Saturday at two. Bounce house, pony rides, and according to the Evite, a magician named Mr. Giggleworth." Bill squinted at the napkin. "Why does the bounce house have a skull on it?" "That's our extraction point." "Through the bounce house?" "Through the bounce house." Bill set down his fork. "Molly, I have robbed three banks, two armored cars, and the Cheesecake Factory on Lexington. I will not be deflating a bounce house full of children." "Nobody's deflating anything. We bounce out. It's a distraction." "It's a felony with cake." Molly stabbed a hash brown with surgical precision. "Listen. Tanner's dad is Derek Mackenzie. Hedge fund guy. Last year the kid got a PlayStation, a drone, and a savings bond worth more than your car." "My car isn't worth much." "Exactly. And this year the grandma is flying in from Connecticut with something in a Tiffany box. We clean house, we retire to Boca." Bill rubbed his temples. "We're stealing presents. From a child. A small child. With a Pokémon theme." "He's a rich child, Bill. He won't even notice. His parents will just buy him more. We're basically a life lesson." "I don't want to be a life lesson. I want to be a ghost in the wind." "You can be a ghost in the wind after we grab the Tiffany box." Bill exhaled through his nose the way he always did right before agreeing to something stupid. "What's my role?" Molly brightened. "You're Mr. Giggleworth." "Absolutely not." "I already paid the deposit." "Molly." "I already bought the costume." "Molly." "It has sequins, Bill. Sequins." Bill closed his eyes and appeared to pray to a god who had clearly stopped taking his calls. "And you?" "I'm the pony handler. I walk the pony around the yard, I case the gift table, I signal you during the dove trick." "There's a dove trick?" "There's a dove, and there's a trick. Whether they occur simultaneously depends on your commitment." He pointed his fork at her. "If one of those kids cries, I'm out." "Children at these parties don't cry. They're medicated and entitled. They'll barely look up from their juice pouches." "And the parents?" "Drinking mimosas in the kitchen. Derek's been having an affair with the neighbor, so the wife will be doing shots by one thirty." "You know a concerning amount about these people." Molly smiled and slid the napkin into her purse. "I'm thorough, Bill. That's why you love me." "I tolerate you." "Same thing, in this economy." She flagged the waitress. "Now eat up. We have a pony to rent."