Run: 2026-11-11-01M7542GG2JDHC541ZECB1F0HA

Molly and Bill crouched behind a hedge outside a brightly lit community hall, watching cubbies full of tiny shoes and a banner that read Happy Birthday Zoe. "Okay, phase one," Molly whispered. "We wait until the parents are distracted by the clown, then we go in through the side door." "Why do we need a phase one for a party?" Bill asked. "It's a children's party, not the Louvre." "Because the Louvre doesn't have a pinata, Bill. Pinatas are security equipment. One wrong swing and everyone is covered in confetti and starts screaming." "I thought you were a professional," Bill said. "You said you could steal anything." "I can steal anything except a cake shaped like a unicorn while twenty toddlers are watching. That is not a skill issue. That is a moral boundary." Bill peered through the window at a tower of glittering gift bags and whispered his plan. "Right, we grab the presents, not the children. I do not want another incident like the petting zoo." "You set the goats loose, Bill." "They were freedom goats. Anyway, the presents are by the door, so we can just grab and run." "And the birthday girl Zoe? She is turning six and she believes in magic. She will sense us." "Zoe is six. She also believes the tooth fairy pays in socks. We are fine." Molly pulled out a tiny notebook and a crayon, looking every inch the mastermind she pretended to be. "Listen, plan A is the silent approach. Plan B is the noisy approach. Plan C is running away while screaming." "We only ever have plan C. Last time we tried plan A at the library, you fell asleep." "I was researching. Also I have a disguise. I borrowed a princess dress from my niece." "That dress is pink and it has a tutu. You will not be silent. You will sparkle." "Sparkle is my brand. Do you have your disguise ready?" "I have a fake moustache and a hat that says party dad. Nobody questions a party dad." The clown blew a trumpet shaped like a swan, and a dozen children shrieked with delighted panic. "That is our cue. The parents are all looking at the clown. Now we move." "Wait, I need to be honest. I have never stolen presents before. I usually buy them." "Good. Then today is your first day of retirement from being a nice person." Molly nodded solemnly, as if she were signing a treaty rather than a pact to steal plastic dinosaurs and art supplies. Bill jammed the fake moustache onto his face at a crooked angle, which made him look like a startled walrus. "Alright, on three we sneak in, grab the biggest boxes first, and try not to cry if a five year old asks us to do balloon animals for money today." Molly counted to three in a whisper, and they both tiptoed toward the side door, glitter and shiny hearts sticking to their shoes very slowly.