"All right. How about water, then?" Cully asked

( I half suspect Cully is evil and will drug the drink... but Alister doesn't know sooo )

Alister nodded, " Water sounds fine to me, though what I could really go for right now is a slushie.. Someone wouldn't let us stop for one. "

(I guess there's only one way to find out, right?)

Electa pretended like she didn't know what Alister was talking about. Cully heaved a pretend sigh. "All righty, let me get you a slushie. But we'll have you cuttin' it with that bourbon before the day's over." He headed back into the kitchen. There was the sound of the small fridge opening. Electa felt like Cully was glad that they were there but it wasn't because he was happy to see them. A few moments passed. Glancing towards the kitchen, Electa suddenly realized that Cully had been gone for longer than he should have been. Then she hated herself for even having the thought. Not looking at Alister, she quietly pushed her chair back and went into the kitchen. "Hey, Cully, do you want any--?" She broke off.

Alister waited in the living room, he was worried about Electra but if it was nothing she'd say something about him being such a worry wart, and how it was nothing, mixed in with some teasing. He didn't like that thought so he stayed in the living room, waiting for signs of either something bad or good.. it wasn't life or death.

Cully was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking down at his cell phone. "Just textin' my mama," he said cheerfully, tucking the phone into his breast pocket. He gave Electa a grin. "Funny how the service out here improved once the CIA poked their nose in, isn't it?"
Electa's scalp prickled. Hiding her thoughts, she picked up the slushie from the counter as they headed back into the other room. She played it cool as she handed the slushie to Alister then said, "Yeah...remember how everyone used to ****** at Dad to move the camp?"
Cully chuckled as he settled himself stiffly into a chair. "Boy, do I. Folks got a little tired of trying to call base and just getting static. Then here comes the CIA and boom! We've got service." He poured splashes of bourbon into both the glasses and pushed one across the table to Electa. "So what's your news? You gonna tell me what's going on?"
Stalling for time, Electa took a swig of the bourbon, tasting its smoky burn as it went down. She never drank much when she was on the road, you never knew when you were going to get a text sending you halfway across the country. She gave a casual shrug, keeping her expression neutral. "Nothing's going on, I just don't get along too well with the CIA, either. So I thought I'd take a break. Alister and I met in Maine, he felt like taking off for a while, too."
"You're not a runaway, are you?" Cully asked Alister.

" The only thing I run away from is Electra when she's mad, which is most of the time. " He said, happily sipping his slushie. He liked slushies a lot more then he should as a adult. But, he exercised and ate healthy so this was his reward. He decided that the man was pushing for more info, and Electra refused to give it.. So, if he was asked the question he would give a false yet believable reason they came here. But, for the moment, he'd change the subject. " Heey Electra.. Remember the pups we saw for sale at that one shop while on our trip here? "

Electa nodded. "Yeah, they were so adorable." And then it hit her. They had just buried her father out there in the blistering desert, a mound of rough, sandy soil the only marker. Cully had dropped his hand heavily on Electa's shoulder as they trudged back to the Jeep. I know how you feel, he'd said. I had to bury my mama when I was just a few years older than you. Hurts like hell.
Now, sitting at her father's old table, Electa could feel the adrenaline surge through her. Cully's mother was dead. Who the heck had he been texting?
Cully spoke. "So, what's your plan? You wanna stay and show Alister the sights? Man, we got some good ones. We got lizards and buzzards...coupla coyotes...plenty of sand, if you like to sunbathe..."

Alister picked up on her sudden panic and said, " Actually, Sir.. " He needed a damn good BS story and fast, he thought to himself. " Real reason I dragged myself out here is because I was wondering if you knew anything about my parents? My mom was killed by an AK, and my father became a jailbird. Electra was telling me in maine about a few stories of hers, said that maybe I would get some answers if I tagged along. Needed a break from work and.. those answers would put me at ease. " He was genuine as it was a touchy subject.. but still fake enough that he couldn't tell why a hybrid was here.

"Ah...well, we are kind of Angel Killers, you know...so that was probably one of us. That's all I can tell you, though," Cully said. Electa nodded. "Yeah, I bet." She took another swig of her drink, then leaned forward on her elbows. Her voice sounded like it was echoing in her ears as she said, "So how's your mom doing?"
Cully chuckled. "Oh, you know, the old gal's still going strong--plays bridge like a fiend down there in Mobile."
"I thought your mom was dead."
There was a beat of dead silence. Cully's mouth was still curved in a smile, but laughter had left his eyes. "No, that's my stepmama. She died of cancer when I was about sixteen."

Alister tensed slightly, his wings unfolding to their full spend- around 6ft each wing- his eyes started to glow a lot more vividly, but to mask his sudden fear he exclaimed, " Brain freeze! ", faking an extremely painful brain freeze. " Stupidly tasty cold drinks always giving me brain freeze. "