Run: 2026-07-25-01KYD7VVR9QP3VC9VK20QA9VWQ

The van smelled faintly of old french fries and desperation. Molly had parked it across the street from Sunshine Giggles Play Palace, where a large banner read HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY JAXON! in aggressively cheerful primary colors. Molly stared through the windshield at the mountain of brightly wrapped presents visible through the play center's window. Bill was already wearing his disguise, which consisted of a birthday party hat and a stolen catering uniform two sizes too small. "This is a terrible idea," Molly said. Bill adjusted the elastic strap of the party hat that was cutting into his chin. "It's a great idea. It's a target-rich environment." "It's a children's party. They are six." "Exactly. Low security. High reward. Those are Lego sets in there, Molly. Big ones. The kind with three thousand pieces that cost as much as rent." Molly lowered her binoculars. Through the window she could see a clown making a dog out of a balloon. The dog immediately popped. "We're professional thieves," she whispered. "We stole the Henderson diamond." "And we fenced it for eight hundred bucks and a gift certificate to Applebee's," Bill said. "We need a win." Molly sighed and pulled out the crumpled blueprint Bill had drawn on the back of a kids menu. It was mostly crayon. "Okay, walk me through your genius plan again. Without using sound effects this time." "Okay, so we enter through the front like normal parents. We say we're here for Jaxon's party. We blend in." "We are not normal parents. You brought a duffel bag that says SWAG on it." "It's ambiguous. It could mean cool stuff or it could be an acronym. Super Wonderful Awesome Guests." Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. "And then what?" "Then we wait for present time. When all the kids are distracted by cake, we grab the table and run." "That's not a plan. That's a felony with frosting." Bill looked genuinely wounded. "I also brought a distraction. Look." He reached into the duffel and pulled out a live rabbit. "Where did you get a rabbit?" "I borrowed him from the magician at the party next door. His name is Mr. Hops." Mr. Hops looked unimpressed by a career in crime. Molly stared at the rabbit, then at the play palace, then back at Bill. "Bill, there are fifteen children in there. And their parents. And that clown. Clowns never forget a face." "So we need a bigger distraction. What if I pretend to be the clown's assistant?" "You are terrified of clowns. You cried during my niece's party." "I had allergies." Molly reached over and took the rabbit from him, placing it gently back in the bag. "Listen. If we're doing this, we do it smart. We go in, we act like we belong, we take two presents max, something small, and we leave before the sugar crash hits." Bill's face lit up. "So you're in?" "I'm saying that if we were to hypothetically steal presents, which we are not actually going to do because we have morals, sort of, we would not take the whole table like cartoon villains." "So we take half the table. I can live with that." "Bill." "Okay, okay. One present each. For morale." From inside the play palace, the birthday boy started screaming because someone got him the wrong kind of Nintendo Switch. Molly and Bill looked at each other. The screaming got louder. The clown started sweating. "On second thought," Molly said, starting the van, "let's steal that clown. He clearly needs rescuing." "Can we still take a present for the road?" "No."