Run: 2026-09-23-01M37PZE0S1P5P1JERZ0HQY2K6

Molly crouched behind the wheel of a rented van, binoculars pressed to her face, watching the suburban backyard like it was the Louvre. "Okay, I've cased the joint," she said. "One bouncy castle, two adults, approximately fourteen children, and a piñata shaped like a dinosaur." Bill lowered his sunglasses and peered over the dashboard. "That's a lot of kids." "That's a lot of witnesses, Bill. Focus." "I'm focused. I'm just saying, kids are unpredictable. One of them starts crying, they all start crying. It's like dominoes, but loud." "Which is why we go in as the entertainment. I'm the balloon artist. You're my assistant, Sparkles." Bill winced. "Do I have to be Sparkles?" "The costume has a hood. The hood has a bow. You're wearing the bow, Bill." He sighed the sigh of a man who had worn worse bows for smaller scores. "Fine. But last time I was a magician's assistant and a toddler bit me." "That toddler had excellent instincts. Now, the presents are stacked on a table under the maple tree. That's our target. We're talking twelve, maybe fifteen gifts. One of them is shaped like a bike." "A bike? We can't fence a bike." "We're not fencing the bike, Bill. The bike is for my nephew. It's his birthday next week and I refuse to pay retail." "See, that's the kind of planning I respect. What's the exit strategy?" Molly unrolled a hand-drawn map on the dashboard, complete with arrows and a stick figure being launched into the air. "We grab the table, we carry it to the fence line, and we go over the fence into the Hendersons' yard. Their dog is fourteen and blind. We walk through their yard at a leisurely pace, load the van, and we're gone before anyone notices the table is missing." "Kids will notice the table is missing. Kids notice everything. One time a kid noticed I had a tattoo of a shark on my ankle and asked me about it for forty-five minutes." "Then we leave a decoy table. I brought one. It's card table. It's from a garage sale. It cost me two dollars." Bill nodded slowly. "That's good tradecraft." "I know it's good tradecraft. Now, the piñata is the wildcard. If they crack it before we move, we have a candy stampede. Chaos. Which is either our best friend or our worst enemy." "What if we steal the piñata too?" Molly paused, binoculars halfway to her eyes. "Bill. That's the smartest thing you've ever said." "I've been saving up." She started the van and pulled her balloon apron off the seat. "Alright, Sparkles. Hat on. Bow up. Remember, we're professionals." "We're stealing from children, Molly." "We're stealing from children who are going to get more presents at Christmas anyway. Now smile like you love fun." Bill smiled like a man who feared fun, and they stepped out into the sunlight.