Run: 2026-09-23-01M36NSVRXDWR70YF6BM2V1B95

At midnight Molly parked their getaway van beside the community hall, whose windows glowed with paper stars and suspicious happiness. Inside, children were singing to a birthday cake large enough to qualify as architecture. Bill studied the security arrangements: one clown, three parents, and a retriever guarding the gift table. Molly unfolded a map of the hall, on a pizza menu. Their route crossed the kitchen, slipped behind the balloon arch, and ended at the presents. “Bring the sack and act natural,” Molly whispered. Bill produced a canvas sack decorated with tiny ducks. “It’s already wearing a bow,” Bill said. Molly inspected him. “That’s camouflage, not fashion.” The retriever lifted its head. Bill froze, smiling the rigid smile of a man pretending he had always been a lamp. “Then we’re overdressed for tonight.” The dog trotted over, sniffed the sack, and deposited a tennis ball inside. Molly considered this an excellent omen. She grabbed three wrapped boxes, Bill took the cake by mistake, and they marched toward the exit beneath a banner reading HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCY. At the door, the clown asked whether they were the hired magicians. Molly bowed. Bill vanished behind the cake, which immediately began singing again.