Douglas Coburn: "Ah can make it disappear. Ah don't believe ah have the right to destroy it, but ah can get it away from the Setites forever."

Mayati: She pauses a moment, rolling her lips between her teeth. "The Cup of Osiris is called that for a reason. It was stolen by Set. Do you not think it should be returned to Osiris, or rather, those that are his inheritors?"

Douglas Coburn: "Long-term, yes." He nods curtly. "Short term, ah believe it is wisest to get it away from the Setites."

Mayati: "What if you can accomplish both, short-term?" She watches him, taking a drag off the clove.

Douglas Coburn: He gazes at her thoughtfully. "You say it," he counters. "It is not a conclusion ah wish to leap to without proof."

Mayati: She flicks some ash into the cigarette behind the counter. "You seem a knolwedgable man, Douglas. What do you know of the Amenti?"

Douglas Coburn: He purses his lips. "Ah believe the Cup is a component of the Spell of Life."

Mayati: She shrugs a little. "It was not intended as such, but yes, I believe it can substitute as such, conceivably. But you didn't answer the question."

Douglas Coburn: "Ah believe ah just did, in a way."

Mayati: "You hinted at it, sure." She smiles. "But knowing the Spell of Life and knowing about the Amenti themselves can be entirely separate things."

Douglas Coburn: "An intelligent woman would have comprehended meaning within the context of the conversation." He blinks owlishly.

Mayati: She gives him a look. "I understand your meaning, DOuglas. Mine is to see how much of what you know is fact, and how much is rumor and misinterpreted details."

Douglas Coburn: He tugs his pocketwatch out of a pocket and flips it open, glancing to it. "Mine," he counters, "is to get the Cup of Osiris away from the Setites before they can corrupt the intent of the Spell of Life and flood this earth with undyin' obedient servants of Set." He glances across at her, snapping the watch closed with finger and thumb and slipping it away once more.

Mayati: "Obediant servants of Apep, to be specific, but yes, as I said, I understand. And I contend that the best way to do that is to get it into the Amenti's hands." She pauses. "I respect your intent, and I'll tell you what I can to help you, as we both work toward one of the same goals, at least."

Douglas Coburn: "The Amenti aren't the only ones who would say they are the followers of Osiris," he murmurs. "I hand the cup to one or the other of you an' there's goin' to be war. No, Myati. Ah'll find the cup and ah'll make it disappear. You an' the Children make peace with one another an' approach me together, an' ah'll hand it over."

Mayati: "The Children of Osiris are sadly long-gone, to my knowledge, Douglas. But that's another situation." She pauses, collecting her thoughts. "Peter Geren had the Cup of Osiris, of course. He came to my store, from what I can gather, on a day I wasn't here. He wanted to sell it to me, or at least see if I was interested in bidding on it. Knowing I was not a teenaged-boy with too much eyeliner on, he moved on. He died soon after, when he contacts several black market dealers about putting it up for auction."

Douglas Coburn: He nods. "Either the theives didn't know what they were lookin' for, or they took everythin' to hide the reason for the break-in. Ah suspect the latter, since they smooshed his brain an' leaked it outta his nose."

Mayati: "I don't think they got it." She smiles a little. "You know of the Amenti, obviously. What of the Apepnu?"

Douglas Coburn: "Servants of Apep," he murmurs, clearly thinking on the fly, "but in your context, ah would imagine Amenti that follow Apep rather'n Re?"

Mayati: "Sort of." She takes a last drag off the clove and stubs it out. "Set stole more then the Cup of Osiris. He actually stole the Spell of Life...a corrupted version. It infused those who underwent the ritual with malign spirits, making them abominations, loyal to Apep himself. These seven wander the earth, the Amenti's eternal enemies." She pauses. "I believe one is here in New York. And I believe it's still searching for the Cup."

Douglas Coburn: He frowns. "Oh dear."

Mayati: "Oh dear, is right." She nods. "One of it's servants assaulted me some time ago. While it was dispatched, it shows me that the Apepnu in question is desperate, yet careful enough to not send itself. And thus, I don't believe it has the Cup. Which means it wasn't in Geren's house."

Douglas Coburn: "An' it's usin' the Setites instead."

Mayati: "Quite possibly." She nods. "It wasn't a Setite that assaulted me...was what we call a Reaper. But the possibility of it using the Setites would not be outside the realm of possibility."

Douglas Coburn: "But unlikely, considerin' the Setites know nothing."

Mayati: She shrugs. "As grunts to do the footwork, they wouldn't be bad choices. Most of the Apepnu are hideous, I'm told...luckily, I've never seen one face-to-face. Someone less repulsive would attract less attention."

Douglas Coburn: He purses his lips. "So, where do you think the Cup is?"

Mayati: She sighs. "Geren had to have passed it off to someone, Douglas. Someone for safekeeping. There's no way he would have trusted it to the dealers, and he had no friends in the academic community, due to his less-then-sterling reputation. I've been trying to dig up information, but I have to be careful on what I ask and where."

Douglas Coburn: He nods. "Thank you. Ah'll let you know if ah find anything." He begins limping to the door.

Mayati: "And I will do the same. Thank you, Douglas. And please, be careful. You seem like an honorable man, being what you are. I would not want harm to come to you."

Douglas Coburn: "Believe me, ah wouldn't either." He smiles a little, then unlocks the door and heads out.

Mayati: She smiles, watching him leave, and leaves the "Closed" sign up, locking the door behind him.