Run: 2026-10-08-01M4DAKYWJ2FM9D9D861TSQ744

Molly leaned against the rusted gate of the community hall, peering through the window at the glittering chaos inside. "Right, Bill. Eyes on the prize. Forty-two presents, two bouncy castles, and one enormous cake shaped like a dinosaur." Bill adjusted his fake moustache, which had begun to droop at one corner. "Why are we robbing a seven-year-old's birthday party again?" "Because Gerald Pike keeps his gifts in the cloakroom, and Gerald Pike owes me money." "Gerald Pike is a dentist." "Exactly. He can afford it." Bill squinted at the window. "There's a man in a clown costume guarding the door." "That's not a guard, that's Derek. He's harmless. Mostly." "Mostly?" "He once tried to arrest me for stealing a balloon. Said it was a crime against childhood." Bill sighed and checked his pockets. "I've got the lock picks, two sacks, and a squeaky horn. Why a horn?" "Distraction. Blow it near the bouncy castle and every parent in the room will think a dog's loose. Nobody looks at the cloakroom when there's a dog." "There's never a dog." "Imagination is a thief's greatest tool, Bill." Bill pulled out a tiny torch and flicked it on. "Fine. But if we get caught, I'm telling them you started it." "You're always telling people I started it." "Because you always start it." Molly grinned and tugged a sack open. "Stay low, stay quiet, and for heaven's sake don't eat the cake." "I'm not going to eat the cake." "You licked the icing off the last one." "That was a different heist, and the cake was a different shape." They crept along the wall, ducking beneath a row of bunting. Through the back door, the cloakroom gleamed with wrapped boxes stacked like tiny cardboard skyscrapers. Bill whistled softly. "Molly, that's a lot of Lego." "Load the big ones first. Lego is heavy and disappointing." Bill began stuffing boxes into his sack. "Where do we take them?" "Mrs. Hennessy's charity shop. She gives everything to the orphanage." "Honestly? That's the nicest thing you've ever said." "Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation." A small voice piped up from behind a coat rack. "Are you the present fairies?" Molly and Bill froze. Bill slowly lowered his moustache. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes, we are." "Can I have a unicorn?" Molly knelt down. "Tell you what, little one. Keep quiet, and we'll see what we can do." The child giggled and vanished back behind the coats. Bill stared at Molly. "This is why we never make any money." "Shut up and fill the sack, Bill."