Run: 2026-09-23-01M37PJWVSV2YP9H0VAE2EPR9J

Molly lowered the binoculars and slid back into the passenger seat of the van. "All right, I've done the recon. Bouncy castle on the north lawn, piñata hanging from the oak tree, and approximately fourteen children under the age of eight." "Fourteen?" Bill whimpered. "That's a lot of tiny witnesses." "They're five, Bill. They can't even read. What are they going to do, write down the license plate?" "You'd be surprised. Kids are snitches. My nephew ratted me out to my sister for eating the last cookie, and I'd sworn him to secrecy with a blood oath. Well, a ketchup oath, but the principle stands." Molly pinched the bridge of her nose. "Focus. We go in as the entertainment. I'm Pierrot the clown, you're my assistant, Sparkles." "Sparkles? Why do you get to be a dignified French clown and I'm Sparkles?" "Because you're the one who bought the glitter vest, Bill. I'm just working with the assets on the ground." "Fine. Fine. But I still say we should wait until the cake. Kids go feral during cake. It's like a feeding frenzy, they won't notice us rifling through the gift table." "Wrong. During cake is when the mothers cluster. Twelve moms on a sugar-high battlefield? That's a security perimeter even I can't crack. We hit during the magician." "The magician? There's a magician?" "There's a magician, Bill. That's the whole point. He's the distraction. While he's pulling doves out of his sleeve, we're pulling Barbies out of the gift table." Bill drummed his fingers on the dashboard. "What's the haul looking like?" "Six wrapped boxes, one suspiciously bike-shaped object behind the shed, and an envelope that I'm guessing is a savings bond." "We're stealing a savings bond? From a child?" "It matures in ten years, Bill. That's long-term planning. That's vision." "What if a kid sees us taking the presents? What do we say?" "You say the presents need to go to the 'present spa' for polishing before the opening ceremony." "That's insane. No child would believe that." "You'd be amazed what a glitter vest and a confident tone can accomplish." Bill sighed and pulled on his sequined top hat. "And the escape route?" "Through the hedge, across the sprinkler zone, and into the van. I've parked behind the ice cream truck so we blend in with the general chaos." "The ice cream truck. The one thing on earth that attracts children like a magnet." Molly paused, binoculars halfway to her eyes. "Bill, I've been in this business fifteen years. I've robbed casinos, museums, and one very confused yacht club. This is the first time I've genuinely feared for my life." "Kids are terrifying, Molly." "Kids are terrifying." She checked her rubber nose in the mirror. "Sparkles, we go on my signal." "God help us," Bill muttered, and stepped out into the balloons.