A/N: Thanks for your continuing encouragement and reviews. This could be seen as a work-centred story, but the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to include in anyways! X

"What is he doing here?" Tony DiNozzo hissed as he caught sight of Richard Parsons, the one man he despised most in all the world, entering the Director's office. He still held a grudge against the Department of Defence investigator for the way he had targeted Gibbs while investigating alleged corruption in NCIS Headquarters.

Tim McGee shrugged his shoulders. Not prepared to allow that guy to distract him from his work for even one second, he continued tapping away at his keyboard as he answered, "I have no idea, Tony. And, until I am forced to face a situation involving that creep, and make a choice between working with him or not, I am going to completely ignore that fact that he is even alive!"

"He picked the right time to visit. It's a pity he couldn't have delayed his arrival for a month and six days," Tony mused.

"Huh?" Tim grunted, scrupulously comparing his printout with the lab results Abby had emailed him.

"C'mon, Tim! You know it's Halloween coming up next month. We could be pranking him in the most humungous way possible!" Tony protested.

That caught Tim's attention, and his head snapped up. "We? Do I look like I have a death wish? No, I don't. I look like I just want to get on with my job without worrying about being fired because I got involved with one of your childish schemes!" Tim chided.

"Seriously, Tim!" By now, Tony was exasperated at his colleague's disinterest. "Think about it. If it were a month from now, we would have all the supplies we would need to seriously bring him down a peg or ten. With your research skills, and my planning and reconnaissance skills, we could reduce him to the pile of squishy muck that he actually is."

"Leave me out of it," Tim said flatly.

"Really, McBoring?" Tony sneered. "You can't think of one, just one, way in which you'd like to see that smarmy snake brought down? The Pursuer of Gibb, the Believer of Lies, the Hater of . . . "

"I never said that," Tim interrupted. The truth was, he was desperate to do exactly what Tony was suggesting. Richard Parsons had made more than one enemy during his time at NCIS. "But I am not willing to risk my job, my career, my future, simply for the sake of revenge. I just don't think this is the time and place for this conversation, that's all." Finally, his eyes met those of his friend's, and they were sparkling. "Meet me at my place tonight. Bring beer."

That night, Gibbs went for a drive. He was in a quandary. Theoretically, he should report what he heard in the Bullpen. Technically, Tony and Tim had both expressed a desire to hurt another human being within the confines of the NCIS building. But in reality, no actual threats had been uttered, and no specific plans made. His mind made up, he turned his car around and drove the other way.

"Bye, McSo-Not-Boring!" Tony called out cheerfully. As he approached his car, he noticed something different - there was a plastic bag hanging on his side mirror. He opened it carefully, and chortled.

It contained a picture of a car, a street address, a six-pack of toilet paper, and a note: USE WISELY!

A/N: Once again, a character gate-crashes my story. At least this time, McGee took a leading role, hehe.