Run: 2026-09-02-01M1HHVRG7F21QZC379G8RZKX8

Molly crouched in the hedges outside Maple Hall. Bill clutched a duffel bag, a stolen scooter, and the last shred of common sense. "Are you sure the presents are inside? The sign says no clowns and no dogs." Molly pointed at the side door. "Positive. The host stacked them beside the bounce castle. Eighteen, maybe twenty." Bill stared at the neon castle inflating in the parking lot. "Can we rob a normal house instead? This plan smells like frosting and bad decisions." Molly spread a napkin blueprint between them. "No. We're professionals. Ninety seconds during cake cutting. You drive, I load, we escape." Bill's eyes brightened despite the dent on their van. "What kind of lemonade?" Molly smiled as a clown's horn squealed from inside. "Sparkling. Little umbrellas." He sighed, gloved up, and followed her around the trash bins. "If anyone calls me a fun uncle, I'm surrendering immediately." The side door was locked. A child screamed over a broken bubble wand. "The real obstacle is the clown." Bill whispered, glancing toward the party. "He watches everyone for candy. He's basically security." Molly produced a hairpin and worked the lock. "There's a plan?" Molly did not look up. "Always." "Do I have a part?" "You carry, look nervous, and do not pet the dog." "Which dog?" Molly finished turning the lock. "Unknown. There is a dog rumor." The door clicked. Molly pushed it open just wide enough for both of them, then froze. The hall was a battlefield of streamers, cake plates, and scattered toys. A massive pile of wrapped gifts waited by the castle, glowing under disco lights like treasure in a temple. "By Jupiter, it is all there." Molly hissed. "Move." They crept past a pirate pinata. Bill's shoulder clipped a banner, and it swung with ominous cheer. Nobody noticed. "Eighteen gifts. Twenty gifts. Bill, bring the bag." "Which one?" "The big one." "I have three big ones." "Use the one that does not leak." Bill dumped candy corn on a table and spread the sack. He hesitated over a gift shaped like a skateboard. "Should we leave one?" Molly looked at him for a long second, then grabbed armfuls of wrapped boxes. Children danced in a circle around a stuffed unicorn, completely unaware. A clown entered the room, scanning everything with theatrical suspicion, but the disco lights had turned him into a dancing threat of pom pom fists. Bill froze. Molly grabbed a dollhouse, a bicycle seat, and the entire remaining pile. She shoved the sack open. Bill seized three boxes and sprinted toward the side door. Molly followed, nearly tripping over a streamer. They escaped into the parking lot while Tyler started crying for his presents. Inside the van, Bill opened the door and discovered the candy corn. Molly started the engine. They peeled away just as confused parents emerged, arms full of paper plates. Bill considered the stolen mountain of gifts. Molly imagined umbrellas in lemonade, and for a moment, neither of them felt guilty.