As the glass slid to him, Booker picked it up with his right hand and started reaching for money in his pocket. The bills were crisp and new, right from the bank. He wasn't exactly used to a piece of plastic being accountable for his income, so having the real deal in front of him helped, even if the system was very different. Two twenties were placed on the bar top and he tapped the counter with three fingers indicating that he'd have the same thing three more times so she could prep it in advance. He wasn't going to hold the place up and be the last bum in there, but he obviously was the only one with his wits about him compared to the other patrons. The first glass was quickly emptied down his throat. There was no satisfying 'aaahh', no hint of satisfaction at all, actually. Drinking was no pleasurable activity, it was a cross to bear.
He nodded as she mentioned Mississippi; he'd never been there, but he imagined Columbia being somewhat like that. Abundant with white supremacy, overly religious ideals, and a strangely clean atmosphere in comparison to the grungy, overpopulated cities he was used to. What peeked his interest was her comment about another world. Even without the Tesla thing, Booker was already used to 'other world' terminology. "Your world anything like this?" What was 'this' anyways? Creatures from space, people from other times... Never in his wildest of dreams could he have imagined coming to the future and witnessing any of this. New York was still New York, but a lot taller, a lot meaner, and a lot more lively.
Shaking his head as he put the poster clipping away, he downed his second drink that she brought to him, sliding the cup back across the bar with just enough force to not push it over the edge. "...She's under my protection." Everyone here seemed to think this was his daughter right away, so he figured if he kept things simple he'd get more information out of folks. The thought alone, of his real daughter, burned away in the penance he had marked on the back of his hand, fingers instinctively flexing out and in before reaching for that third drink and quickly finishing it off. "We got separated, someone took her from her. Folks tell me she was here, in this world, at least once. She's.. special." Maybe in another time, another world, or even in Rogue's world, Booker and Elizabeth were mutants escaping persecution, but Booker's only purpose now to to ensure Elizabeth's safety and no one was going to stop him from finding her.