The Rescue of Linda Tran was a rescue mission undertaken by the Winchesters to rescue Linda Tran.
Background[]
In search of the Prophet Kevin Tran, the King of Hell Crowley located his mother, Linda Tran and got Kevin's location off of her smartphone when she wouldn't break under torture. When Crowley kidnapped Kevin, he told Kevin Linda was dead,[1] but later claimed that he was lying and would lead Kevin to her if he let Crowley go. Kevin ultimately didn't let Crowley go and was convinced by Dean not to go looking for Linda as if she wasn't dead, she was as good as in every way that mattered.[2]
In truth, Crowley didn't kill Linda when he kidnapped her but rather locked her in a storage locker at Castle Storage in Wichita, Kansas with two other important prisoners he kidnapped for leverage. Crowley left a young demon named Del to watch them with Del possessing one of the Castle Storage employees. When Candy, one of the other prisoners attempted to escape, Del murdered her.[3]
Battle[]
A few months after being murdered by Gadreel,[4] the ghost of Kevin Tran manifests in the Bunker. Kevin explains that since Metatron closed Heaven, all the souls needing to go there are stuck in the Veil which is getting crowded. When asked what they can do to help him, Kevin asks the Winchesters to rescue his mother, explaining that he has been passing messages between ghosts and found one who died recently and saw his mother just a week ago. All Kevin knows is that the ghost's name is Candy and she's in a forest in Wichita, Kansas. Kevin tells the Winchesters that he wants them to go to the forest, summon Candy and find out what she knows, telling them that if they want to make up for his murder, this is the way. Kevin then disappears, losing his grip on the mortal world.
Sam and Dean travel to the train trestle in the forest that Candy told Kevin her ghost is stuck near. Sam expresses doubt that Linda may still be alive, but Dean tells him that they at least owe it to Kevin to try to save her if they can and shows that he brought a radio and coffee maker to help Candy communicate since she's only been dead a week. While they wait, Dean repeatedly tries to call Crowley as he's the only confirmed lead they have on Linda, but he doesn't answer the phone or his messages. Suddenly, their radio comes to life and Candy begins trying to make contact. After adjusting the radio a bit, they are finally able to hear Candy from it and she tells them that she was trapped in a box with Jerome and Linda in other boxes side by side. Sam and Dean realize that Linda is Linda Tran and ask her if she knows where the boxes are. Candy doesn't, but from her description of the boxes, Sam and Dean realize that they are likely storage units. Candy explains that two men held her, one of which is clearly Crowley from her description. Sam asks what Crowley wanted with them and Candy tells Sam that Crowley said that they were worth more alive then dead, but he eventually stopped coming and left just the other demon to watch over them. With just the other demon, the prisoners decided to try to escape, believing they could get past him. Candy managed to escape, but the demon caught up to her and killed her with a knife to the back. As they start to lose Candy, Sam asks her about Linda. However, Candy doesn't know if she survived or not. When Dean points out that's not what she told Kevin, Candy explains she told Kevin Linda was alive when she last saw her but she doesn't know what happened to her afterwards. Before losing her connection with them completely, Candy tells Sam and Dean that for Linda's sake, Candy hopes she's dead.
With the information they got from Candy, Sam and Dean begin their search for Linda with Sam discovering that there are three storage facilities nearby. He also discovers that Candy was the kept woman of a powerful Congressman. Dean realizes that Crowley is keeping these people as human leverage and wonders why the second demon killed Candy. Sam suggests that Crowley had her killed to make an example of her after her escape, but Dean believes it was the other demon as Crowley wanted these people alive. Checking the storage facilities, Sam and Dean end up at a Castle Storage where they ask to check to check the facility's rental records. While the clerk, Del is hesitant, he eventually gives in and has his co-worker Barry bring out the rental binder. Checking a map of the facility's storage units, Sam notices that Corridor Q has three adjacent units that are separate from the others and suggests that that could be what they were looking for since Candy mentioned there were three hostages. Checking the rental binder, Dean finds that a D. Webster rented out all three units which the Winchesters recognize as a lame Crowley in-joke. After hearing them mention D. Webster, Del tells Sam and Dean that he also leases another unit on the other side of the facility and offers to lead them there. Dean agrees to go with Del while Sam checks out Corridor Q.
Picking the lock on the last storage unit in Corridor Q, Sam finds Linda who is happy to see him but also frightened about the demon guard coming back. The two are then suddenly locked in without warning. Locked up together, Sam quickly frees Linda from her chains and she begins using his Swiss Army knife to hotwire the door open, explaining she knows what to do from helping Kevin with his engineering club projects. Linda asks Sam if he left Kevin somewhere safe rather than taking him on the rescue mission and is determined that once they get free, they will take her to her son. Sam starts to tell Linda the truth about Kevin being dead, but seeming to realize what he's going to tell her, Linda insists that Sam will take her to Kevin and goes back to work. Linda is eventually able to free them from the storage unit.
In the other storage unit, Dean quickly comes to realize that the unit doesn't belong to Crowley as it doesn't have stuff that Crowley would have in such a unit. Dean finds a box labeled "Bob Gunderson" as Del, who is the demon who killed Candy and kept her and Linda captive, uses his smartphone to lock Linda and Sam in the storage unit. As Dean figures out the truth, Del hits him over the head from behind and knocks him out.
Dean awakens to find that Del has murdered Barry and is using his blood to create the Goblet of Blood to call Crowley. Dean realizes from Del's complaining that he's the demon that Crowley left in charge which he confirms. Del complains about how terrible his job is as he has to take care of Crowley's prisoners and gets no credit for it and Crowley is missing. Del finds the worst bit is that he couldn't kill anyone and instead had to protect them. He's also pissed that Crowley is unlikely to answer his call or even acknowledge the fact that he caught the Winchesters. Trying to reach the demon-killing knife in his boot, Dean tells Del that Crowley is more likely to be pissed than happy as they are now working together.[5] Angry that Crowley is hanging out with hunters while he is stuck in a bad job, Del decides to quit and just kill Dean. As Del starts to kill him with his knife, Sam rushes in and Dean knocks Del away. Del fights Sam but is quickly overpowered and knocked out.
With Del under their control, Sam and Dean bind him with the Supernatural Handcuffs. Del tells them to kill him, but Sam informs Del they're saving him for someone else. Del fearfully believes it to be Crowley, but Sam informs him that this person is "much worse." At that moment, Linda walks in and Sam offers her the demon-killing knife and Dean offers her the chance to be the one to kill Del. Linda is all too pleased to get the opportunity to kill her tormenter and Del desperately tries to convince her that he was just following orders. However, Linda is uninterested and stabs Del in the heart with the demon-killing knife, killing him before he can even finish trying to defend himself. Linda then returns the knife to Dean and demands to be taken to her son.[3]
Aftermath[]
Sam and Dean return to the Bunker with Linda where they inform Kevin of the successful rescue. Kevin and Linda are tearfully reunited and Linda locates the ring belonging to Kevin's deceased father, believing that its the object that Kevin's spirit is tied to. Dean warns Linda against taking Kevin's spirit home with her as spirits can go bad, but Linda is determined to take him with her, stating that as his mother, its her job to keep Kevin safe for as long as she can. Similarly, Kevin is determined to go with Linda to keep her safe since she was held captive and tortured for a year because of him. Sam tries to apologize for his role in Kevin's murder, but Kevin recognizes that it wasn't Sam's fault and forgives him. Dean promises to find a way to get Kevin into Heaven where he belongs and teases him about all the time he will be stuck with Linda until then. Before leaving, Kevin asks the Winchesters to get over their problems, aware of them as he was present even when he wasn't visible. Kevin points out how stupid their problems are and that they are still alive and have each other while his mother has to take home a ghost. Though the Winchesters promise to put aside their differences, Sam takes off as soon as Kevin is gone.[3]
Despite Heaven eventually being reopened, Kevin remains stuck in the Veil for nearly two years afterwards. After God intervenes to save the Winchesters from Amara, he brings Kevin's ghost to the Bunker to convince them to trust him. Kevin is then sent to Heaven by God who felt he'd been stuck in the Veil long enough.[6]
Trivia[]
- While Angel Heart shows that Heaven is reopened to souls who have died, its never said whether or not Kevin has gotten into Heaven following his leaving with his mother after her rescue. Its eventually revealed in All in the Family nearly two years after the reopening of Heaven that Kevin remained stuck in the Veil as a ghost. He was eventually sent to Heaven by God Himself after helping to convince the Winchesters to trust God.