When Gibbs entered the lab, the scientist flinched and dropped the file he'd been holding.
"Dr. Pandy," said Gibbs.
Dr. Pandy bent over to pick up the scattered papers. He shot an anxious glance at the Sig Sauer in Gibbs' holster.
Tony started laughing. "I see you've met Gibbs before."
"What did he do to you?" Ziva asked.
"He threatened to shoot me," Dr. Pandy confessed. His head was bowed, and his gaze was fixed on the file in his hands.
"What did you do?" Tony asked.
"I cooperated."
Tony laughed again. "No, what did you do to piss him off? Did you spill his coffee? Kill someone?"
"Almost," Dr. Pandy said, solemn.
McGee frowned. "What?"
"I designed a strain of the plague that was stolen and used in biological attack on NCIS. An agent almost died."
Tony's grin only faltered for a second. "Oh," he said, "Well. You're good at your job. Trust me."
Dr. Pandy's brown eyes widened. "You..."
"Tony," said Gibbs. "You get those shipping dates. We'll be down the hall, talking with the lab techs."
"On it, Boss," said Tony. He watched Ziva, McGee and Gibbs leave the room before turning to face to the doctor.
"I'm sorry," said Dr. Pandy. The simple sincerity in his words made Tony look away again.
"Don't worry about it. You were just doing your job. Hannah Lowell is the one who put it in an envelope, and sealed it with a kiss."
"You are more forgiving than your boss. He said that I didn't understand his anger, but if you died, I would."
Tony smiled awkwardly. "Gibbs just doesn't like feeling helpless."
"What do you mean?"
Tony shrugged. "He was stuck between a disease from the Dark Ages, a woman with brain cancer, and a girl with a dead boyfriend. You were pretty much the only person he could wave a gun at. Don't take it personally."
Dr. Pandy looked at Tony for a long moment. When he spoke, his words were slow, and deliberate. "I won't take it personally," he said. "But perhaps you should."