Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KRJRX4EQH1Q5K55YW57QBP

The kitchen smelled like burnt sugar and bad decisions. Molly was taping a plastic dinosaur to the back of a nametag that read Hi! I'm Lulu. Bill stared at the map of the cul-de-sac like it might bite him. "Are you sure the presents are in the living room?" he asked. "Pretty sure. Birthday kid is seven, mom is exhausted, and the invites said come at four. Presents go on the coffee table where everyone can see them." Molly peeled the tape off her tongue. "It's perfect." "Perfect for what? For stealing from a seven-year-old?" "For stealing from a seven-year-old's parents who bought him a drone with a camera, a VR headset, and three Lego sets that cost more than our rent." She held up the nametag. "We go in as party entertainers. You know, the balloon animal guy." "I am not good with balloons." "You are good with grabbing things quickly and leaving." Molly tossed him a bag of props. "Also, you are Bill. You look trustworthy in a striped shirt." He looked down at the shirt. "This is a shirt from a 1998 diner." "Exactly. It says I do kids' parties." She checked her watch. "We have twenty minutes before the traffic cones go up." Bill sighed and pulled the dinosaur off the table. "What's the exit plan?" "There is no exit plan, that's the beauty." Molly grinned. "We load the presents into the stroller. The stroller is already at the party for the neighbor's baby. We wheel it out during the cake chaos, pretend the baby cried, and we're gone before the candles are blown out." "And if someone asks us who we are?" "We're the cousins from out of town." Molly slipped on a pair of oversized sunglasses. "You are Uncle Bill. I'm Aunt Molly. We brought the good snacks." "The good snacks are candy we stole last week." "Details." She opened the door. "Move." He followed her into the night, muttering about morals. She was already humming the birthday song under her breath. The street was already strung with paper lanterns. A plastic piñata swayed over the driveway. Molly pushed a stroller that was empty except for a duffel bag. "You're sure the parents won't notice the weight?" Bill whispered as they crossed the lawn. "They're busy making sure Timmy doesn't eat the plastic wrap." She knocked on the door with a balloon animal attached to her hand. "If anyone asks, we're late because traffic was insane." The mom opened the door with a smile that was mostly caffeine. "Oh hi, you must be the cousins. Come in, come in, Timmy's in the living room." Inside, a dozen kids screamed over a pile of wrapped boxes. Molly's eyes widened. "Bill. Bill. Look at that drone." Bill looked at the drone and at the mom. "Okay, new plan. We take two boxes and leave." "We take all the boxes." Molly whispered, already crouching beside the stroller. "This is why we rehearse." "Rehearse what?" "Don't think. Act like you belong." She slipped a present into the duffel. "Uncle Bill, can you get the baby? He looks fussy." "I am not getting a baby." "You are getting a baby." She shoved the stroller toward him. "I'll distract with the balloon sword." He stared at the screaming children, the cake, the mountain of presents, and the mom who was now wiping frosting off a toddler's face. "This is insane." "This is a heist," Molly said, tossing him a balloon poodle. "And we are very good at it." The first box hit the bag.