Run: 2026-09-10-01M25DTAQMVZ0SC1S258H3J6H4

Molly lowered the binoculars and wiped rain from the lenses. The community center glowed like a birthday cake on fire. Inside, thirty children screamed at a clown. Out back, a donkey piñata hung from a swing set. In the party room sat a mountain of presents, wrapped in paper so shiny Bill could see his own regret in it. The rain picked up outside. A minivan backfired in the distance. Molly ignored it. Bill ignored it too, mostly because he was trying to remember whether he'd locked the van again. "Right, Bill, here's the score. The target is a children's birthday party. Blow-up castle out back, piñata shaped like a donkey, and a mountain of presents in the party room." Bill wiped nacho cheese on his sleeve. "Children's party? Molly, we're thieves, not monsters. Well, mostly not monsters. What's the take?" "Everything. Legos, board games, gift cards, maybe a bike. Kids get spoiled. We redistribute." "Exactly. Robin Hood, if Robin Hood had a van and no moral compass." Bill peered through the window. "There's a clown." "Not a problem. Clowns are slow. Big shoes." "One clown just made a balloon sword. He's armed." "With a balloon, Bill. You've been shot twice. You'll survive." "I was shot with a real gun. This is different. Balloon swords have whimsy." Molly unfolded a crayon drawing of the community center. "Focus. Phase one: we enter as entertainers. I'm the magician. You're my assistant." "Assistant again?" Bill rubbed the old saw scar on his thumb. Molly sighed. "Because last time you were the magician, you sawed a man in half and couldn't put him back." "Phase two: while I distract the children with a rabbit, you load the presents into the piñata." Molly ignored Bill's skepticism and drew a flap on the donkey piñata anyway. "Children are easily confused. We give them cake. Then we take the presents." "They'll have cake and a traumatic story for therapy. Everyone wins." Bill scratched his chin. "What about parents?" "Parents are worse. They'll be filming everything. That's why we wear fake mustaches." "I can't wear a mustache. I have a mustache." "Then wear a second mustache. Disguise." Molly checked her watch. "We have eight minutes. The clown does a juggling bit at two. That's our window." "Can we just buy a present? Blend in?" "With what money? We spent it on the van." "The van is a piece of—" "Don't insult the van. The van is our ticket. It has sliding doors and questionable plates." Bill sighed. "Fine. But if a kid cries, I'm leaving." "You always say that." "One time I stayed. I'm growing." "Good. Now, do you remember the signal?" "I cough twice, then yell 'Oh no, the cake is haunted!'" "No, that's for funerals. For this, you cough twice, then yell 'Look, a distraction!'" "We're not subtle. We're fast." They bumped fists. Bill paused. "Molly?" "Yeah?" "Are we bad people?" "We're entrepreneurs." "That's not a no." "It's not a yes either. Grab the fake mustaches."