Run: 2026-10-08-01M4DAESQPTB3481G8MDVZ1AK3

Molly crouched behind the hedge, peering through the gap in the fence at the glowing backyard. Balloons bobbed over a bouncy castle, and somewhere a toddler was screaming with joy. Bill slid in beside her, holding a clipboard. "Right. Report. How many presents?" "Forty-seven, according to the gift table," Molly whispered. "And the little one with the dinosaur hat says there's a pinata full of coins." "Coins? Who fills a pinata with coins?" "Someone who wants us to be sad, Bill." Bill scribbled something on the clipboard and tapped it with his pen. "Okay. Phase one. We need a distraction. Something that gets the parents looking the other way." "I've got a distraction," Molly said, pulling a foil-wrapped tray from her coat. "Brownies. Extra fudge. Made them myself." Bill stared at her. "Molly, the last time you baked, the smoke alarm sang show tunes for an hour." "These are different. They're laced with sugar. Nobody leaves a sugar rush alone." "Fine. Phase two. The bouncy castle. It's our exit route, so nobody touches the blower cord." "Why would anyone touch the blower cord?" "Because you're going to trip over it, and then I'm going to be carrying forty-seven presents and you on my back." Molly sighed. "Fair. Blower cord is off-limits. What's phase three?" "Phase three is the gift table. We go in quiet, take only the big boxes, and leave the ones with homemade cards." "Bill, that's the saddest thing you've ever said." "It's a moral code, Molly. We're thieves, not monsters." A clown ran past, honking a horn shaped like a duck. Both of them ducked. "Okay," Molly said, "but what if a kid spots us?" "Then you smile, you say you're the magic uncle's assistant, and you hand them a balloon animal." "I can't make balloon animals." "Then you make a sword. Every kid loves a sword." Molly grinned. "You've really thought this through." "I've thought about nothing else for three days. I have a spreadsheet." "Of course you do." She checked her watch. "Cake's in ten minutes. That's our window." "Then let's move. Remember, quiet, fast, and no one gets hurt." "And if someone sees us?" Bill tucked the clipboard under his arm. "We pretend we're here for the piñata." "Bill, we're pretending to be piñata-smashing guests now?" "It's a classic cover, Molly. Trust the process." They slipped through the gap in the fence, two shadows creeping toward a mountain of wrapped gifts, as a small voice behind them yelled, "Hey! Are you the magic uncle?" Molly froze. Bill didn't blink. "Yes," he said smoothly. "Yes, we are. Want a sword?"