Run: 2026-07-25-01KYD71EXWEZ3Y0V870V5MATW4

Molly unrolled the blueprint across the hood of Bill's hatchback, weighing down the corners with a juice box and a half-eaten sandwich. "Where did you even get this?" Bill asked. "Little Timmy's mom posted the whole party layout on social media. Bouncy castle goes here, cake table here, and the presents—" she tapped a spot with a chewed pencil, "—pile up right here by the gift table. Seventy-five invited kids, Bill. Seventy-five presents." Bill squinted at the diagram. "That's a lot of presents." "That's a lot of profit. Do you know what a limited edition robot dinosaur goes for on the resale market?" "I'm going to guess more than my car." "Your car is worth less than the sandwich holding down this blueprint, so yes." Bill took a bite of the sandwich. "Okay. So what's the plan? Because I'm not crawling through any air vents. I have a bad back and a worse attitude." "No vents. We walk in through the front door." "Bold. Insane, but bold." "We go in disguised as the entertainment. I've got two costumes in the trunk. You're a clown, I'm a balloon artist." Bill set down the sandwich slowly. "Why am I the clown?" "Because you cried during a car commercial last week and clowns are supposed to be emotionally fragile. It's called authenticity." "I had allergies." "You sobbed, Bill. You clutched a throw pillow." Molly pulled a duffel bag from the back seat and unzipped it to reveal two oversized sacks with dollar signs drawn on them in marker. "You drew dollar signs on the sacks," Bill said. "It's thematic." "We're robbing a six-year-old's birthday party, not knocking over a cartoon bank." "Details sell the fantasy. Now, the timeline. Party starts at two. Cake cutting at three-thirty, which is our window, because every adult in that yard will be watching Timmy blow out the candles." "And the kids?" "Distracted by the clown." Bill stared at her. "That's me. I'm the distraction." "You're the entertainment AND the distraction. You're doing balloon animals." "You said YOU were the balloon artist." "I lied to spare your feelings. Here's a pump and forty balloons. You have three days to learn." Bill picked up a balloon and stared at it like it had personally wronged him. "What if one of the kids recognizes me?" "You've never met any of these children." "I have a very recognizable face, Molly. People stop me in the grocery store." "That's because you once got your head stuck in the automatic doors and it made the local news." "It was trending for a WEEK." Molly rolled up the blueprint. "Look, it's simple. You twist balloons, I load the sack, we meet at the car at three-forty-five, and we're on a beach by Monday drinking things with little umbrellas in them." "And if it goes wrong?" "Then we improvise." "The last time we improvised, you stole a swan." "That swan followed ME, Bill, and I will not be blamed for it." Bill sighed and started blowing up a balloon. "Fine. But if I have to make a giraffe, I'm charging extra." "You're robbing a child's birthday party and you want a raise." "I contain multitudes."