Run: 2026-07-07-01KWZ5AA6N0HWBFEEYD6WFHGFA

Molly leaned back in the booth, stirring her coffee with a stolen spoon. "So here's the job. Saturday afternoon, 2 PM sharp. Suburban house on Maple Drive. Birthday party for some kid turning seven." Bill scratched his chin. "What's the haul?" "Loot table's gonna be loaded. I'm talking Lego sets, action figures still in packaging, probably a bike. Kids these days get better stuff than we steal." "What's the security situation?" "Minimal. Bouncy castle in the backyard, one clown, and about fifteen sugared-up kids." "The clown concerns me." "It's a birthday clown, Bill. Not a supervillain." "You said that about the mall Santa and he turned out to be off-duty police." "Look, the plan is simple. We go in as parents. You wear that ugly Hawaiian shirt. I'll carry a covered dish nobody will question." "What's in the dish?" "Nothing. That's the beauty. Empty casserole dish, protocol is they never open it. You get complimented for being thoughtful and nobody checks if there's actually potato salad." Bill nodded slowly. "I'll admit, that's elegant. But what about when it's time to grab the goods?" "Present table's by the back door. When they bring out the cake, all eyes go to the birthday kid. You keep lookout, I load presents into the empty dish. We cover it with foil, walk out like we're taking leftovers to the car." "Like taking leftovers to the car," Bill repeated. "That's... brilliant and horrible simultaneously." "I know. I'm talented." "What about the kids?" "What about them?" "Won't they notice all their gifts disappearing?" "That's the beautiful part. The parents always bring a reserve stash. Emergency presents in case the party gets derailed. Kid won't even realize anything's missing until after we're gone. By then it's just chaos and tears." Bill winced. "Do we have to make children cry?" "Indirectly. We're not making them cry. Physics is making them cry. Absence of presents is making them cry." "That feels like a thin moral line." "You literally stole a wheelchair from a hospital last month." "That was a completely different situation. It was a very nice wheelchair and they had several." Molly pointed her spoon at him. "Are you in or not? Because I can get Carl." "Carl got arrested." "Exactly. Are you in or do I need to find somebody else to help me steal from children?" Bill sighed. "I'm in. But I'm not wearing the Hawaiian shirt." "It's either that or the cargo shorts." "The Hawaiian shirt."