Run: 2026-09-02-01M1GV0S20ECNKRB0KN2ZR0QMV

The van sat across from the Hendersons' house, beneath a banner reading HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDY TYLER. On the lawn, a man in a hot dog costume was setting up a folding table. "Confirm the layout." Bill studied the yard through the binoculars. "Bounce house, west lawn. Gift table on the porch, unguarded. This is almost insulting." "Nothing's ever insulting. Who's working the table?" "One grandmother. Folding chair. Polaroid camera." "Is she armed?" "Only with opinions." "Grandma's the heavy. They see everything, know every kid's name, and never blink at a stranger." "Which is why we go in undercover." Bill reached into his duffel and produced a pink wig and an apron stenciled BALLOON BUDDY. "I'm not doing face painting again." "You were a legend in Duluth. Kids still talk about the butterfly." "I stabbed a child in the eye with a brush." "He bounced back. Kids bounce." Molly took the binoculars and swept the porch. "Remind me why we're hitting a birthday party. We do banks." "Banks have cameras, guards, dye packs. This has a folding table and a guy dressed as a hot dog." "The hot dog worries me." "The hot dog should worry you. I know that face. That's Bubbles. Vegas, maybe. Or the ATM jobs in '09." "So we've got a rival professional at a child's birthday party." "Could be a coincidence. Clowns exist." "Then we avoid him. He works the crowd, we work the porch. Professional courtesy." Across the street, the grandmother's camera clicked. Molly slid down until only her eyes showed above the dashboard. "Timing," she said. "Piñata goes up at two. The whole herd migrates to the backyard. Gift table sits naked for four minutes." "Four minutes to clear forty presents?" "Thirty-eight. Goodie bags stay. That's the line." "Your morality is baffling. What about the cake?" "Nobody touches the cake. Even in our world, there are rules." "Exfil?" "Bounce house. Cut the back seam, slide through, over the fence." "The bounce house is attached to a blower. Lose air and it collapses. With us inside it." "That's why I'm bringing a patch kit and a story about liability." "What else?" "The birthday kid might recognize me. I did his cousin's zoo party last spring. As Safari Steve." "So? Different wig." "I'm also the guy who got a python confiscated by Animal Control. He cried at me, Molly. Direct eye contact and crying." "Then stay behind the balloons. Nothing kills a heist like a sobbing birthday boy." "They're basically guard dogs that way." "Target list." "Everything wrapped on the table, plus the big one. Bike-shaped box behind the folding chairs." "We're stealing a bike from a seven-year-old." "A seven-year-old with forty presents. He'll get another one by Tuesday." Molly looked at him. "That was almost philosophy." "That was Tuesday logic. It's airtight." Bill raised the binoculars again and went rigid. "What?" "Bubbles is face painting." "That's not his station." "He's doing butterflies, Molly." He swallowed. "He's doing them better than you."