Run: 2026-10-08-01M4DAJD5QB8VJ9F42MN4255VZ

Molly crouched behind the hedge, peering through the gap at the glowing windows of number twelve, Maple Crescent. Balloons bobbed against the glass. Somewhere inside, a hundred tiny voices shrieked the chorus of a birthday song. "Right," she whispered, pulling a crumpled map from her coat. "Bill, you've got the back gate. Once the clown finishes his magic trick, you slip in past the bouncy castle." Bill adjusted his stocking mask, which had slipped down over one eye. "What if the clown sees me?" "He won't. He's too busy pulling scarves out of his sleeve. Nobody watches a clown who's doing tricks." She tapped the map. "The presents are stacked in the conservatory. Eleven of them, all wrapped in shiny paper. Grab the big ones first." "How do we know which ones are the big ones?" "Because the big ones are shaped like a bicycle, Bill." He nodded seriously, as though this were a sound and sophisticated criterion. "And the getaway?" "The van is parked round the corner. Engine's running. We drive off with the loot, nice and calm, no sirens, no shouting." "Molly," Bill said slowly, "what's that noise?" A high, wobbling wail rose from the front garden. A small boy in a dinosaur onesie stood on the lawn, pointing at them with a sticky finger. "Mummy! There's robbers in the hedge!" Molly grabbed Bill's sleeve. "Run." They sprinted down the pavement. Bill tripped over a garden gnome, skidded, and rolled into a recycling bin. Molly hauled him upright by his collar. "Did you get anything?" she gasped. Bill held up a small, squashed present wrapped in dinosaur paper. "Only this. It's a rubber duck." "Bill, that's the piñata." "Well, I thought it was a present." Behind them, a flustered father appeared at the gate, waving a party popper. "Oi! Come back here! That's Oscar's party bag!" They ducked into the van, slammed the doors, and screeched away. In the back, Bill cradled the rubber duck like a trophy. "Molly," he said quietly, "I think we should retire." "Bill," she replied, staring at the road ahead, "we've been retired since the bouncy castle."