Run: 2026-10-09-01M4FXM6SZ766Y383KP1X0MQ3D

Molly crouched behind the hedge, peering through the gap in the fence at the glowing windows of number twelve, Maple Crescent. Balloons bobbed against the porch. Somewhere inside, a children's party was in full roar. Bill slid into the crouch beside her, holding a clipboard he had clearly stolen from a dentist's office. "Right. Status report." "Forty-three children, two adults, one very large bouncy castle," Molly whispered. "And the presents are stacked in the front room, under the window, exactly where I said they'd be." "Good. And the security?" "A golden retriever named Biscuit. He's been fed three sausage rolls already. He's not a threat anymore, Bill. He's a snack buffet with a tail." Bill made a note on his clipboard. "Entry point?" "Side gate. Then the back door, which is unlocked because the father keeps going out to the shed to vape." "Brilliant. Contingency plan?" Molly sighed. "If anyone spots us, we pretend to be the magician." "We don't have a magician costume." "We have a top hat and a tablecloth. That's basically a magician." Bill squinted at her. "Molly, that's a stretch." "Bill, nobody at a seven-year-old's birthday party questions a man in a top hat. They're too busy eating jelly." He tapped the clipboard. "Fine. But if we get caught, I'm blaming you for the glitter cannon." "That was an accident." "You pointed it at the cake." "The cake was already ruined by the clown." A faint chorus of children's laughter rolled across the lawn. Bill glanced toward the house, then back at her. "Last question. What do we do with the presents once we've got them?" Molly grinned. "We return them all to the correct houses." "That's not a heist. That's a delivery service." "It's a heist if the children never find out. Imagine the reputation. Nobody will ever suspect the Robin Hoods of the bin lorry." Bill sighed, but he was smiling. "Fine. Let's go, Robin." "It's Molly." "I know. I was trying to get a rise out of you." They rose, crept along the fence, and slipped through the side gate just as a child inside screamed, "Piñata!" Molly froze. Bill froze. Then, from the backyard, came the crack of a stick hitting something soft and the joyful roar of forty-three children. "Perfect," Molly whispered. "Nobody's looking at the windows." "Right," said Bill, adjusting his clipboard. "Operation Gift Wrap is a go."