Run: 2026-07-25-01KYCQYSD179FM5R8XFWW3EYNX

"Right," said Molly. "Party starts at two. Cake at three. We go in at three-fifteen." "Why three-fifteen?" "Because at three-fifteen, twelve children will be simultaneously eating sugar. It's the only fifteen minutes in human history where nobody's watching anything." "And the presents?" "Stacked by the piñata. Unguarded. Beautiful." "Molly." "What?" "They're children." "They're *investors*, Bill. They've received unearned capital from wealthy relatives and they've done nothing to deserve it." "One of them is turning six." "And what has she contributed? Six years of drooling and demands." "I don't like it." "You said that about the bake sale." "The bake sale was also children!" "And we ate very well that weekend, didn't we? Did the brownies taste immoral?" "They tasted like brownies." "Exactly. Now. You'll be dressed as the clown." "Absolutely not." "The clown gets access, Bill. The clown gets *trust*." "I have a documented fear of balloons." "Then you'll be a magician. Magicians carry a large box for no reason and nobody questions it." "...That's actually quite clever." "I know." "I'll need a cape." "You'll have a cape." "And a name. Something with mystery." "Bill the Magnificent." "Bill the *Unfathomable*." "Fine. Get the van." "And Molly? We leave one present." "Why?" "So she doesn't stop believing in things."