August 1st, 2014
Lebanon, Kansas
"Sam!"
Alex jerked awake at the yell, her eyes flying open in surprise. For a moment she was displaced, laying on a bed surrounded by concrete walls, and she scrambled to her feet as Sam's reply bounced off of the bunker walls. "Dean?"
"What the hell?" Alex pushed her way into the hallway, a hand coming up to brush back her messy blonde hair. "Sam?" she yelled. "Dean? What's wrong?" The sudden cry implied danger, but for the life of her she couldn't imagine what.
Sam appeared around the corner, confusion and concern etched into his long face. "Where's Dean?"
Alex shrugged, but before she could speak, the lights flickered. "What the hell?" Her grace stirred uneasily inside of her, and the young hunter felt her muscles tense as she looked around. "Dean!"
No answer came, and Alex followed Sam out into the library. One of the wooden chairs spun in a slow, even circle, and she shivered as a chill passed through the air. "Sam," she began, "something isn't right."
The Winchester lifted an iron sword off of its pegs. "Yeah, tell me about it. Dean!" He started towards another hallway, his weapon held firmly out in front of him, and Alex followed close at his heels. Her grace prickled, but it stubbornly stayed within the confines of her body, and the ex-angel shivered with unease.
Something moved in the corner of her eye, and Alex spun around to see a dark, swirling shape move through the air. Her mouth opened to cry out to Sam, but a shot drowned out her voice, and she squealed in surprise as rock salt tore into her cheek. The young hunter stumbled back, clutching her face as her head snapped towards the source of the gunfire. Sam stared blankly at where the apparition had vanished from, his mouth slightly agape. "So…"
"Yep." Dean cocked his shotgun, a frown set deeply into his face. "Bunker's haunted. Did I get ya?'
"Yeah." Alex pulled her hand away to reveal the blood on her fingers, and she scowled in disgust. "What the hell? I thought this place was warded to hell and back."
Sam crowded inwards, his hands coming up to examine her wound. "Come on. Let's get that cleaned up." He guided towards the kitchen with a hand on her shoulder, and Dean followed close behind.
"It is," he began, answering her previous question. "That's how I know nothing got in — there's no way it could have gotten through those sigils. So whoever's haunting us must have died here."
Alex scoffed at the idea as she sat down at the table, and Sam turned to look up at his brother, guarded curiosity on his face. "What, dead Men of Letters?"
"No, that doesn't track." Dean shook his head, and he handed Sam a wet washcloth from the sink. Alex winced as the younger Winchester pressed it against her face, and after a second she reached up to bat his hand away; she could hold it there herself. "I mean, we're the first people to occupy this place in fifty years. Why would a ghost wait so long to get its spook on?"
"Must have been a more recent death—"
"No." Dean cut his brother off, his tone sharp and pointed, and Sam paused in surprise.
"How can you be so sure?" he asked, and Alex pushed him away when he tried to peel back the washcloth to get a better look at the tear in her flesh.
"Because I burned his body myself, okay? It's not him." Dean crossed his arms, and Alex narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember who they were talking — ah yes. Kevin Tran. He had died here at the bunker. A wave of sadness passed over her, which further intensified as Sam's next words.
"Okay, so you cremated him. We cremated Bobby, too, and he came back."
"Sam, I"ll telling you — this ghost, it's not Kevin —" The coffeemaker next to Dean started to blink, its red light flashing spastically as Dean spoke the prophet's name. Dean faltered, and his gaze turned onto the appliance that sat on the counter he leaned against.
"K-Kevin?" At Sam's words, one of the cream mugs exploded in a shower of ceramic shards, and Alex flinched away at the loud bang.
"I think that answers that question." Alex pulled the washcloth away and reached up to touch her face. "I don't — I don't get it. Why would he choose to stay?" She drew her grace up into her eyes, scouring the room for any sign of the prophet, but she couldn't find him at all.
"I don't know." Sam picked up the coffee machine and put it on the table as he slid into the seat in front of it. "Kevin? Kevin, are you there?"
There was no response, and Sam's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "I don't think he has enough strength right now," Alex said as she let her grace fall away from her eyes. "I can't find him. He must be somewhere deep in the veil."
Dean shook his head, and he pushed himself off from the counter. "This is ridiculous," he snapped, turning away, and Alex and Sam exchanged looks, unsure who his comment was directed at. "That's it. I — I'm going to go shower, okay?" He threw his hands up as he walked towards the door. "You guys — you guys can figure out how to talk to him. I'm out."
He disappeared from sight, and Alex watched as Sam frowned after him. "He doesn't mean that," she started, knowing Sam understood as well. "He'll be back after he cools off and works through it." She looked around the room, drawing her grace back up into her eyes as she searched for any sign of the ghostly prophet. "I find it hard to believe too," she finally admitted when Sam didn't respond. "He knew better than to stay, you know?"
"Yeah, you would think." Sam slid the coffeemaker further down the table before he leaned forward, propping his head up on his elbows as he settled down to wait for Kevin's return. He fell silent, and Alex did the same.
...
Almost a full hour passed, and Alex lost track of time as she found herself wandering through the vast wasteland of the internet. It was Dean's reappearance that finally snapped her back out of it. "Anything?" he asked, and his voice startled Sam out of his deep concentration.
"Eh, a couple dings." Sam leaned back, stretching out his tired limbs. "A little EMF activity, but mostly … silence."
"So, he's back in the veil."
Sam shrugged. "I guess so. Fumbling to break through. I mean, you got to figure it took Bobby months to make contact."
"True," Alex softly agreed. "And Kevin … well, he's still new at this." Sam got up and exited the room, and she drew her grace up into her eyes as she looked around the room. They landed on the small, thin figure of Kevin Tran, and the ex-angel rose to her feet. "Kevin?" She felt her chest contract in surprise and joy at the sight, followed by a sharp stab of sorrow, and her vision blurred slightly as tears sprang into her eyes.
The prophet looked up in surprise, and his mouth fell open as words poured from his mouth, but no sound reached her ears. "Kevin?" she heard Sam repeat from behind her, but she ignored him.
"I — I can't hear you." Alex shook her head, and she reached up to rub her eyes. "Yeah, I can see him," she called back to the two brothers. "I just can't … why are you here?" She watched as Kevin's mouth moved again before her shoulders fell. "I can't hear you. You're not strong enough." Or my grace can't stretch itself that thin, she thought despondently, unwilling to speak that possibility aloud.
"Wait. You mean Kevin — he's there?"
Alex turned back to Dean, giving a small, curt nod. "He's over there, I just can't … He's trying to speak, but I can't hear him. He's not strong enough to break through the veil just yet." She rubbed her temple. "I … I just need to take a breather, okay? I'll be right outside. Think you can take watch for a minute?"
The frown on his face was clear, but Dean nodded. "Yeah, sure thing." He sat down on the table beside the coffeemaker. Alex left the room, pausing slightly as Sam passed her by on his way down towards the library.
"Kevin?" she heard Dean's voice from behind her, and the angel had to pause. "Kevin? Alright. I can't do this." His voice grew sharp as his anger rose. "This coffee-buzzing, bump-in-the-night crap. I got serious things to say to you, okay? And I'm not going to say them to this." There was a thud as he slammed his palm down onto the table, and the ex-angel took a guilty step away from the door. "Kevin … I'm sorry. You did not choose this life. You busted your ass, you lost everything, everyone you love … and your reward? Getting killed … on my watch. If I …" Dean drew in a deep, soulful breath, and Alex's chest contracted in sorrow. "It was on me. It was my fault, and …" He fell silent, and the lights above Alex's head started to flicker. "And there's nothing I can do to make that right. I am so sorry."
Sam appeared around the corner, bursting past Alex and into the kitchen. "Hey, did you see that?" he asked breathlessly. "The — the lights were …"
He fell silent, and Alex stepped back into the kitchen to find the corner of the room flickering with a cold energy. "No, this is not happening." A voice filled the room as Kevin Tran began to take shape, and Alex curled her grace up inside to make sure that she wasn't just seeing him through the veil. "I didn't spend months struggling to break through the veil just to get stuck listening to Dean Winchester having a self-pity session. Didn't hear enough of those when I was alive."
"K-Kevin?" Dean turned, his face blank with surprise, and the dead prophet looked between him and Sam before his gaze finally came to rest on Alex.
"Y-You can see me?" he asked. "And — and hear me?"
Sam nodded, and Alex said, "Uh, yeah. Yeah. We all can. Just, uh, just take it easy, okay?" she added when Kevin's form flickered violently, disappearing completely for a second before once again stabilizing. "You won't be able to hold this form for very long, not yet. Not without a lot of practice."
"Then we should talk fast."
"Wait, wait, wait." Dean stepped forward, cutting into the prophet's words. "Why aren't you in — in heaven? I mean, if anybody deserves an express pass to paradise —"
Kevin flickered again. "I couldn't," he explained. "I can't. No one can. Heaven's closed for business." His gaze darted over to Alex for the briefest of seconds before falling back onto Dean. "Everyone who's died since the angels fell are just stuck inside the veil, waiting. And it's bad in here. Like DMV-line-times-infinity bad."
"Well, I mean, what can we do?" Sam looked over at his brother, and Dean gave a nod of agreement.
"I need a favor — big one. Find my mother."
"Kevin," Sam started before Dean cut in. "Crowley only told you she was alive to mess with you," Dean said harshly, but the prophet wasn't phased.
"I'm not going off his word. Alright? I have my own sources. It's crowded in the veil. All of us are stuck near the sites of our deaths. But I've been able to pass messages spirit to spirit." Kevin flickered again, and Alex took a step closer before he stabilized. "— made contact with another new arrival," he continued, unaware that his ghostly form had momentarily faded. "She said she saw my mom just a week ago, alive."
For a moment Sam and Dean were silent. "Okay, this — this spirit you're playing ghost telephone with," Dean finally said. "I mean, what do you even know about her?"
"Her name's Candy. Says she's in a forest in Wichita by a train trestle."
"Candy?" Alex repeated in disbelief. "And — and that's all you have for us? Nothing else?"
"Long distance communication within the veil … it's not ideal," Kevin explained. "That's why I need you to go there summon her, see what else she knows. You say you want to make it right? This is how." He disappeared with a flicker, and the room fell silent.
"Great. I guess we're going to Wichita." Dean stalked out of the kitchen, and Alex watched him go with a deep-set frown.
"Hey, I'm sorry, but I've got to ask. Does Dean seem a little … tense with us as of recently?" she asked Sam, and the Winchester's tight-lipped expression answered her question. "Of course. You two are fighting. Do I even want to know about what?"
"It's nothing. He's upset because I told him that if our situations had been reversed, and he had been in that coma, I wouldn't have done what he did. I wouldn't have let an angel possess him." Frustration flashed in Sam's eyes. "He thinks he's being the hero, but he's just being selfish. And now Kevin is dead."
...
It was late that night by the time they reached the forest that Kevin Tran had spoken of. The air was surprisingly cold for an August night, and Alex tugged her jacket tighter around her small frame. The trees blocked out the twinkling stars above, and the only light came from the brothers' pale flashlights. Alex's grace twitched within her arm, twisting and binding to the angel blade in her hand. It has been a gift from Dean, one of the extras from the Impala's trunk, and while she hadn't hesitated to accepted, she regretted how her grace, now occupied in her weapon, no longer strengthened her senses. She tread on behind the brothers, her steps light and her head swinging every which way to peer in between the dark, groaning trees. "Alright, that's the trestle." Sam's voice startled her, and she swung her gaze around to where the Winchester was staring up at an old metal structure. "Candy said her spirit was stuck nearby."
"She died here?" Dean looked around through the darkness with a scoff. "What got her? A bear?"
Alex chuckled, and Sam added, "I'm still stuck on the fact that we're trying to summon a ghost named Candy. You know, just cause Kevin said he heard his mom is alive doesn't mean she —"
"Hey, we at least owe it to the kid to try, alright?" Dean dropped his backpack on the ground with a thud, and Alex's head snapped to him. Something flickered through the trees behind him, and Alex immediately dropped her blade onto the grass as her grace sprung up to her eyes.
She heard Sam's questioning noise, but she ignored it as she took a step closer to the woman who stood at the edge of the trees. "It's okay," she began slowly, hands going out to assume a non-threatening gesture. "Are you … are you Candy?" The woman's mouth moved, and Alex shook her head. "I can't hear you, alright? You're still in the veil. We were sent here by Kevin Tran."
Recognition sparked in the woman's eyes before Dean stepped in front of her, blocking Alex's view. "Do you see her?" he asked, and Alex gave a quick nod, pushing past him, but the woman was gone. "Is she here?"
"Well, she was, at least." Alex turned back to look at the two brothers. "I don't know where she went, but she was here."
"So … you can see ghosts, but you just can't hear them?" Sam asked as Dean knelt down beside his backpack. "Why?"
"Because my stupid grace can only do one thing at a time." Alex reached down to pick up her weapon, and her grace instinctively slid down into the metal. "I could probably hear them if I listened for them, but only if I use my grace." She shrugged. "I dunno, man. It's complicated. What are you doing?" Her attention turned to Dean, unsure of what else to say.
"Well, Candy's only been dead a week, right? So I figured she could use as much help as she can get, so …" Dean pulled their coffeemaker out of his bag, and Alex's head fell back as she rolled her eyes.
"Really?" Sam asked from beside her, and Alex watched as he shook his head in disbelief.
Dean shrugged, and he sat the machine down on one of the old picnic tables. "Whatever works." He pulled out an old radio from his bag and set it down beside the coffee machine. "We know she's here, so the sooner we make contact, the sooner we can find Ms. Tran."
Alex tossed her weapon onto the table. "It looks like she's gone deep back into the veil," she reported as she made a quick survey of the woods around them. "Conserving energy, hopefully. It might be a few minutes before she can work up the strength to break through."
"Great. Well, good thing I have plenty of things to set up." Dean hauled his bag up onto the table and held out a hammer to his brother. "Well? Start hanging."
...
The night grew long, and the still air lost the last bit of its heat from the day. Alex sat beside Sam, her hands tucked firmly between her warm thighs as she waited impatiently for the ghost's return. Dean sat a few feet off, staring down at his phone. "You feel that?" Sam suddenly asked, sitting up straighter as he looked around. "I think I felt a chill."
"Yeah," Dean agreed dryly. "It's cause it's cold." With a sigh, he lifted his phone up to his ear as it rang. "Crowley, it's Dean," he snapped. "Call me when you get this."
"Really, Dean?" Sam leaned forward as his brother hung up. "That's your third unanswered voicemail. You ever think maybe he's just not that into you?"
"Well, he is our last confirmed link to Ms. Tran," Dean retorted. "Yes, he is a flaming douche, but at least we know he's real, which is more than we can say for this Candy no-show."
"Hey, I saw her." Alex shot Dean a glare, the frigid air making her temper run short.
"Yeah, well I didn't. We've been here for half an hour, and nothing's happened. I say we pack up, go home and get warm, and then come back tomorrow in the day. When the sun's up." Dean rose to his feet, his mind made up, but before he had taken a step in any direction, the radio hanging on the tree in front of them crackled to life. Static filled the silent woods, and Alex could hear the faint, clipped syllables of a woman's voice trying to break through.
Both of the Winchesters were in front of the radio in a heartbeat. "Candy?" Sam asked. "Are — are you there? Is that you, Candy?"
Dean reached forward to adjust the radio antenna. "Hello?" The woman's voice grew stronger. "Hello?"
Dean turned the dial, searching for the strongest frequency as Candy's words cut in and out. "There, there." Sam suddenly said as the voice came through loud and clear. "Stop, stop, stop. Candy?"
"— in a box," the woman was saying, thin and terrified. "They put me in a box. All of us in boxes, side by side. Me, Jerome, Linda."
"Linda's —" Dean started, but his brother immediately spoke over him. "Ms. Tran. Candy, these boxes, where were they?"
"I don't know. They were cold. Dark. There — there was a vent. We could talk to one another."
Sam looked down at Alex, and the ex-angel shrugged, raising her grace to her eyes as she looked around for Candy. There — standing a few feet away from Dean. "What were the rooms like?" she asked, and Candy looked surprised to find Alex staring straight at her.
"B-Bare," she stuttered, her mouth moving but her voice coming from the radio. "Cement. Except for the door. That was … metal, but, like … ridged."
"Ridged?" Sam repeated. "You mean like corrugated?"
"Yeah!" Candy nodded enthusiastically as she looked over at Sam. "I tried to lift the door, but I couldn't. Locked from the outside."
"Like a storage unit?" Dean murmured up to his brother.
"Maybe," Sam agreed quietly before turning back at the radio. "Candy, who was holding you there?"
"Two men." The small woman shuddered at the memory, and the panic returned to her voice. "It was so dark in the box. When they came, I could barely see. The — the first guy was British, I think. Kind of short, loved hearing himself talk."
"Crowley," Alex confirmed. "Okay, so what did these people want?"
Candy shook her head, unsure. "Said I was worth more alive than dead. But the first man stopped coming. Then it was just the other guy. We thought with just him … we'd try to escape. I ran so hard, so far, but …" Panic swelled up in Candy's face, and she flickered, the static overtaking her voice.
"Candy?" Sam called. "Candy, are you there? What about Ms. Tran? Candy?"
"I-I-I don't know." Candy's voice returned, small and scared. "Maybe she survived."
"Maybe?" Dean's voice grew sharp as he glared at the radio. "That's not what you told her son."
"I said she was alive. I don't know what happened after. For her sake, I hope she's dead." Candy flickered once, twice, and then disappeared, and her voice degraded into static.
"Candy?" Sam called. "Candy?"
"She's gone." Alex shoved her hands into her pocket, and she let her grace fall away from her eyes, watching as the world darkened around her. "She's faded back into the veil." She reached up to rub her eyes, jerking slightly as a sudden shiver passed down her spine. "Let's pack up and get to the car, okay? I'm cold."
"Good idea." Dean picked up the radio and shoved it into his bag alongside the coffeemaker, and Sam handed him the other various electronics that he had set up around the perimeter. "So, we thinking some sort of storage unit, then. How many do you think are in the area?"
"I don't know. It can't be more than a mile from here, if Candy made it this far before Crowley's guy found her." Sam started up back towards the car, and Alex and Dean followed. "There's not much in this area to begin with."
Alex let the Winchesters pull ahead as they made their way up over the ridge. A demon-run storage facility in Wichita, Kansas. She had already had the misfortune of being sent there on one of Crowley's errands — if she was truly lucky, it wouldn't be the same place.
Dean unlocked the trunk as they reached the Impala, parked off a dirt road beneath the cover of the trees, and Alex slid into the backseat as he tossed his supplies inside and slammed the trunk closed. Sam got into the front, his backpack slung over his shoulder, and he tucked it between his legs as he pulled out his laptop.
The car started when Dean got in, and within minutes they were back under the starry night sky. "Okay, there are three storage facilities nearby," Sam finally said, breaking the silence. "The closest is about a mile up the road. Oh, and I, uh — I think I've dug up some stuff on Candy. Turns out she was the kept woman of a powerful Congressman. Gossip blog said he worshiped the ground she walked on, literally. He, uh — he had a foot fetish."
Alex pulled her lip up in disgust, and her expression was mimicked across Dean's face. "So, Crowley was holding the beloved tootsies of a powerful politician?" he asked, and Sam nodded in agreement.
"And the beloved mother of a powerful prophet," he added.
"Human leverage." Dean guided the car around a sharp turn before asking, "But why kill Candy?"
Sam gave a small shrug. "Well, you heard her," he guessed. "Uh, she tried to make a break for it. Maybe Crowley wanted to make an example."
"No, no." Dean shook his head, and his brother looked over at him in surprise. "The guy left in charge. Crowley wanted the victims alive."
"So, what, you want to give him a medal?" Sam stared at his brother, shocked when Dean didn't take back his words. "I mean, Crowley's the one who put them in the cells in the first place."
"I, uh, I don't think Dean's defending Crowley." Alex leaned forward between the two brothers. "He's just saying that this isn't exactly Crowley's M.O. I mean, killing her would take away all of his leverage, and all to what? Set an example to two other people that are scared out of their wits? Doesn't seem advantageous."
"Thank you." Dean gestured back to her, and Alex gave a small nod. "See? I'm just trying to talk things out. You know, working the case. Businesslike." His pointed words had some effect on Sam, because the tall hunter groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes, and Alex frowned. Dean must have seen her confusion in the rearview mirror, because he added, "Oh, didn't you hear? Apparently Sam and I are no longer brothers — his words, not mine. We're strictly business now."
"I didn't put it like that, and you know it," Sam snapped, his head spinning around to glare at his brother.
"Oh, you're right. I forgot the part about how I have a — a God complex because I just want to keep my baby brother alive, which apparently makes me the bad guy."
"I was ready to die, Dean." Sam's voice was sharp with exasperation, and Dean scoffed. "I was ready, but you couldn't live with it, so you just had to bring me back. Because that's what you always do. And now Kevin's dead, and Crowley is on the loose. I told you — everything that has gone wrong between us has gone wrong because we're brothers."
"Exactly! We're family!" Dean's voice rang through the car, loud and clear. "I don't care whether you like it or not, because we are. And that's what family does. I do whatever I have to to keep you safe only to find out — to find out that you wouldn't even try if the situation was reversed." He reached over and turned on the stereo as Sam opened his mouth to respond, and Alex fell back into her seat as music blasted through the car, too loud for anyone to yell over the noise. It did not, however, obscure the glare that Sam gave to his brother, and Alex curled up in the back, her hands coming up to plug her ears as the conversation died and the car continued on.
...
An hour later, they had both checked and crossed off two of the storage facilities from the list. Neither of them had exhibited anything out of the ordinary, and neither had been the one that Alex had once visited. The surrounding land was beginning to look familiar, and the ex-angel's heart sunk as Dean pulled the Impala off onto a side road as they neared the last facility on their list.
"Let me guess," Dean muttered as the three of them exited the car and made their way in through the front door. "5'5, pasty white, black-rimmed hipster glasses, just like the last place."
Sam snorted at his brother's prediction of the employee's appearance; their fight now over, the two had at least fallen back to speaking terms. Alex watched as Dean rang the small bell, ginning smugly as a man matching Dean's exact description popped up from behind the counter. "Nailed it," he whispered back to them.
Alex couldn't share in his amusement as the employee's gaze came to rest on her, and her grin faded away. The small silver name tag confirmed her suspicions; standing in front of them was Del, the demon Crowley had left in control. She felt a blush rise to her face, but Del's gaze had moved on without lingering. "Can I help you?" he asked the two brothers cheerily.
"Yeah, hi. Agents Nicks and McVie. Back there is Agent Bramlett. We need to take a look at your, uh, rental records." Dean pulled out his fake badge, and Alex and Sam did the same, holding them up long enough for the demon to see before tucking them away.
"Uh, my manager's not here," Del began apologetically. "I really don't think I should —"
"Hey!" Dean's thin patience showed as he snapped, and Del jumped slightly in surprise. "The records, pal."
"Yeah. Barry! Bring out the rental binder!" The demon raised his voice, and after a second or two, another man approached, and Alex watched as Sam and Dean exchanged amused looks at how the second man fit Dean's earlier description to a T; scrawny, pale, with a black and red "Castle Storage" t-shirt and thick black glasses. In his hands he held a large white binder, which he set down on the desk before backing away. Alex drew her grace up to her eyes before he left — he was human, but the twisted, charred face of Del showed that a demon still possessed him. "There you go, sir." Del slid the binder over to Dean, and Alex looked away, shifting awkwardly to stand closer to Sam, whose attention had turned to the far wall where a large map of the complex hung.
"Hey," he called, and Dean looked up from where he was flipping through the rental leases. Sam motioned his brother over, and pointed to the upper right hand corner of the map. "Okay, check it out. Corridor 'Q.' Three adjacent units separate from the others. I mean, Candy said there were three hostages, right?"
Alex recognized the exit door she had entered through in the past, and she dared to cast a look back at Del; the demon's face remained expressionless. "Yeah," Dean agreed, and he flipped through the binder in his hands. "Okay, It's all leased by the same guy — a D. Webster."
"D. Webster?" Sam repeated. "Wait. As in like, Daniel Webster?"
"Well, I know a lame Crowley in-joke when I see one," Dean muttered, and he snapped the thick binder closed with a heavy thud.
"You guys say 'D. Webster?' " Del spoke up from behind the counter, leaning forward in curiosity, and all three hunters turned to face him.
"Yeah," Dean agreed guardedly. "Yeah, you — you seen him?"
"Uh, no, just … I know his name from the records. He's leasing another unit on the other side of the facility. I could show you," he offered, motioning towards the door that led deeper into the complex.
"Yeah, that'd be great." Dean watched as Del circled around from the desk and opened up the door as he quietly added to his brother, "All right, why don't you take corridor 'Q'? I'll go with, uh, Del the funky homosapien. Alex?"
"I'll, uh, I'll go with you." Alex followed Dean and Del down the hallway, her head tipped as she listened carefully, but there was no screaming to be heard from within the complex.
Dean cleared his throat. "So, uh, when's the last time Webster has been here? Do you know?"
"I haven't seen him for months," Del admitted, and Alex narrowed her eyes at the sharpness that lined his tone. "He used to come by a lot, but then one day, he just … stopped. Ah, here we are." The demon unlocked one of the units and lifted the door to reveal a large room full of boxes and tools. The lights flicked on as Dean and Alex entered, and the ex-angel cast a look back at the demon, who stood with his arms crossed.
Dean wandered inwards, pausing by the workbench to examine a small scythe that sat out in the open. He hummed slightly in confusion before moving on to the shelving full of cardboard boxes. Alex followed, watching as he reached inside of one to pull out a small green child's toy. "You sure this is the one leased by Webster?" he asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, this is it." Del took a step closer, his head tipping in confusion.
Dean knelt down, and he waved Alex over. The ex-angel approached, crouching down beside him, and the Winchester pointed to the corner of one of the boxes. The name 'Bob Gunderson' was scrawled in black permanent marker. "This isn't Crowley's unit."
Alex heard Del surge forward, and Dean suddenly slumped onto the ground, unconscious. "Whoa!" The ex-angel jumped to her feet, her eyes flashing as she faced the demon. "What the hell?"
"They're the Winchesters. Crowley is going to be pleased." Del pulled a coil of rope off of the workbench and pocketed the knife with whose handle he had knocked Dean unconscious. "I assume that's why you brought them here."
"What? No!" Alex knelt down beside Dean, reaching out to take his pulse. "I — I'm undercover, you asshole! You're going to give me away."
Del pulled Dean up into a sitting position and tied him up to the shelves. "We'll let Crowley decide."
"What the shit?!" A voice from behind them had both Alex and Del spinning around to find Larry, the other Storage Castle employee standing at the door. Alex opened her mouths to stutter out an excuse, but the demon moved as fast as lightning, his knife going out to slit the employee's neck as he dragged him into the room.
"Dude!" Alex shoved Del on the shoulder, causing him to drop the body and stumble back. "Don't you dare think I'm beyond killing you, because I swear to God —"
Del scoffed loudly, and he reached up to readjust his glasses that had been jolted askew. "You can't do shit without Crowley's permission. Rumor is that last time you offed a demon, he put you back in your place."
Alex scowled, but she didn't argue. "Just tie me down before Dean wakes up, okay? The last thing I need is them being suspicious of me." She sat down beside Dean and looped her hands between the metal supports of the shelf as Del tied them together with the rope. His work was quick and rough, and Alex hissed as his nails dug into her wrists.
Satisfied with his work, the demon returned to where his coworker was bleeding on the floor, and he propped the body up and placed a metal bowl beneath his neck, letting the blood run into the basin. "This job sucks," he muttered. " 'Trust me,' he says," and Del's voice took on an accent to mock Crowley's. 'You definitely want to be a part of this — a chance to get in on the ground floor of my operations, a real learning experience. Consider it a stepping stone, my lad — like an internship."
"So, you're the one." Dean stirred, speaking up, and Del's attention was drawn to him. "You're the one who Crowley left in charge." He looked back at Alex, a question in his eyes, and Alex gave a small nod; yes, she was okay.
Del ignored their exchange. "Yeah. What a privilege. Feeding the apes, hosing the floors, washing out the honey buckets, and for zero credit. The boss, M.I.A. Too important to show for work, to even return my calls. And you know the worst part?" The demon paused, gesturing to them with a knife.
"I'm all ears," Alex quipped, and she grinned at the glint in the demon's eyes, frustrated at her interruption during his rhetorical question.
"The worst part was that I wasn't allowed to kill anyone. I was told to protect them. I mean, how sick is that?" Del's gestures got stronger, and Alex watched as the blade glinted in the harsh iridescent light. "Am I not a young, vital demon with basic demon needs and rights? And when I call Crowley to inform him that I've single-handedly caught the Winchesters, if he even answers my call, think I'll get a thank you? Ha!" The demon scoffed loudly as he shoved the body away, picking up his bowl of blood and setting his knife aside.
"Yeah, you're right, kid." Alex could see Dean's fingers out of the corner of her eyes, working at his bonds as he spoke to keep Del distracted as he sought freedom. "He won't give you credit. If anything, he'll be pissed."
"What?" Del's gaze turned over to Alex, dark with confusion, and the ex-angel gave a small, barely perceptible shrug.
"Well, me and Crowley," Dean explained, "we're — we're tight now. Thick as thieves. Saw him just last month. We, uh, we had a grand old time."
"So that's where he's been. Out partying with humans — with hunters?" Del suddenly threw the bowl onto the ground, and Alex flinched as blood splattered everywhere. "You know, I put up with a lot! Caring for humans, working with angels — but I've had enough! I'm tired of languishing here in this go-nowhere, no-kill joke of a job. I quit!" Del ripped off his name tag and threw it onto the ground.
"Well, congrats." Dean tugged at his ropes, and as he moved his legs, Alex caught sight of the wooden handle of the demon-killing knife tucked around his ankle. "Now what? Early retirement, margaritas on the beach?"
Del scooped up the knife and surged forward, straddling Dean's legs. "I was thinking something a bit differently." His eyes flashed black as he pressed the blade up against the Winchester's throat. "Do you know how long it's been since I've done this? I thank you for reminding me what I truly am."
Dean groaned as the knife dug into his skin, and the iron tang of blood filled the air. Alex struggled against her bonds, forcing her grace down into her arms to break the fibers. "You kill him and I fucking kill you!" she hissed.
Del paused, pulling back to look the young hunter in the eyes. "You won't dare," he taunted, lifting the blade high above his head, the tip pointed towards Dean's heart. The ropes snapped, and Alex launched herself forward, knocking the demon away before he could land his final blow.
They both fell onto the concrete, and Alex struggled to get to her feet, but a leg lashed out and caught her in the knee, sending her toppling to the floor. Del jumped up, ready to attack, but a dark blur from behind him sent him flying across the room and into the metal shelving, knocking him down onto the ground. Alex staggered up right to see Sam grab the demon by the shirt. "Get Dean," he ordered, but the Winchester was already on his feet before Alex could get back to him.
She heard the clink of metal, and she turned to see that Sam had forced Del onto the ground and secured his hands behind his back with warded handcuffs from the bunker. "You okay?" she asked Dean, watching with concern as he pressed his hand into his bleeding neck.
"It's not deep," the Winchester promised as he glared down at the demon. "Did you find her?"
Sam gave a curt nod. "Yeah. She's outside."
Del glared up at the Winchesters, a scowl on his face. "You're not going to kill me. Crowley wouldn't allow it." His gaze slid over to Alex, and the ex-angel paused, unsure what to do. When the demon's stare didn't abate, she gave a quick, barely perceptible nod.
Dean scoffed, the interaction between the two going unnoticed. "And what makes you think we give a rat's ass about what Crowley wants? Besides, last I checked, you quit."
Something flickered in the demon's eyes, something akin to fear. "Is that why you're here?" He stared up at Alex, eyes wide. "Did you know?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Alex shook her head. "I didn't come here to kill anybody. In fact, I think we're saving that honor for someone much worse." She looked over at Sam, and the Winchester nodded.
"Much, much worse," Dean added, and he held out the demon knife. Footsteps approached, and Linda Tran stepped into the room, ragged and dirty, but her eyes glowed with the rage. "Do the honors, Ms. Tran."
"With pleasure." The prophet's mother took the knife from Dean, twisting the blade in her hands, and Del shifted backwards on his knees.
"Hey, lady, I swear," he started, words spilling from his mouth as Ms. Tran approached. "I was just following order—" He cut off with a gasp as the knife pierced his heart, and the demon's face lit up with a bright orange light. It flickered once, twice, and then three times as Linda held the blade there, prolonging the demon's suffering before she finally pulled it free and allowed the creature to collapsed to the ground, dead.
She held the blade out, not turning around as she stared down at the body that lay in front of her. She stood there for several seconds in silence, and when she spoke, her tone was rough, but her words were sure. "Take me to my son."
"Ms. Tran …" Alex began, and the woman turned to look over at her.
Tears glistened in her eyes, proof that she already knew the fate that had befallen her only child, but her voice lost none of its clarity. "I said, take me to my son."
...
Alex pushed her way into the bunker, raising her grace to her eyes. "Kevin?" she called out, hurrying down the stairs to stand in the library. "You there?" She felt Dean stop beside her as she looked around, smiling to find the prophet entering the room.
He stopped behind them. "Well?" The way Dean spun around meant that Kevin had materialized, and Alex let her thin grace fall away.
"We got her." Dean's voice caught momentarily as he faced the prophet. "She's here. But we wanted to give you a moment to … you know, process."
Kevin's eyes widened every so slightly in surprise. "Oh, I, uh …" he began. "Does she know?"
Two sets of footsteps approached as Sam led Ms. Tran through the bunker. "Kevin?" Her voice shook as she stepped into view of her child, and Kevin turned. "Hello, son."
"Hey, mom."
Tears filled Linda's eyes. "Oh." Her jaw trembled, and Alex turned away, unable to watch.
"Dean." She motioned the Winchester closer. "Let's give them a moment alone. What are we going to do with them? We can't keep them here."
Dean's gaze lingered on the Trans for a moment longer. "No," he finally agreed. "But it wouldn't be right to separate them again. Kevin's spirit has to be attached to one of his possessions. If he doesn't know, then maybe Ms. Tran does."
"Yeah. I'll go get his things." Alex pushed past the Winchester and made her way down the hall to Kevin's bedroom. The door was unlocked, and Alex flicked the lights on to reveal a half-made bed scattered with notes. She gathered them up, collected the few precious belongings that the prophet had kept in a small wooden box, and returned to the library.
Kevin was gone, disappeared back into the veil, and Alex placed what she had brought down on one of the tables. "Here. This is all I found."
Dean pushed the papers off to one side, his fingers lingering on a folder jammed full of papers. "So, this is, uh — this is all of it," he told Ms. Tran. "You know, hunter's tools — notebooks, papers, pencils, P.S.A.T. results." He paused, smiling as he looked over the results. "Perfect score. Way to go, kid."
"This." Ms. Tran reached into the wooden box and pulled out a silver signet ring. "This is it. His father's. Mr. Tran died when Kevin was a baby," she explained, her voice soft and low. "It's the only piece of his father Kevin ever had. If Kevin's s-spirit is bound to some object here … this is it."
"Listen, Ms. Tran. There's a lot we don't know about this heaven situation. There are risks to taking Kevin home with you. Now, spirits, the longer that they're in the veil, they have a way of …" Dean hesitated, and his face fell, unable to bring himself to finish his thought. "Well, it doesn't end up well."
"He's my son." Ms. Tran gripped the ring tightly in her hand. "It's my job to keep him safe for as long as I can."
"I … I might be able to help." Alex held out her hand to the woman, and after a second or two of hesitation, Ms. Tran placed the ring in her palm. Alex closed her fist around it, letting her grace spill down her arm and into the metal as her eyes fell closed in concentration. She could feel Kevin's soul bound within, and she poured her energy inwards, strengthening the connection and stabilizing his spirit. Her grace spluttered, pulsing hot like fire in her veins, and Alex opened up her hand with a gasp.
Ms. Tran took it back, not asking for an explanation of what had transpired, and Alex drew in a shaky breath as the tattered, burning remains of her grace rushed up into her body. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Dean asked.
"She was held and tortured for a year because of me." Kevin flickered into view beside his mother. "Now that I've found her, I'm not letting her out of my sight. She's my responsibility."
"And you were ours. And we failed you." Sam sighed as he looked down at the prophet. "Kevin, I —"
"Sam." Kevin gently cut him off. "I know that wasn't on you. Go put a blade in that asshat who possessed you and we'll call it square." Sam gave him a small, grateful nod, and Kevin turned his attention to all three of the hunters. "Guys. Thank you." His eyes met Alex's, and she half-heartedly returned it as she watched the world start to spin.
Dean shook his head. "You can thank us when we get you to heaven where you belong. Okay, until then, enjoy your time with your mom. The, uh, uninterrupted, 24/7, no-escape quality time."
"Dick." A wide smile split the prophet's face, and he rolled his eyes as he and his mother turned to go.
"Dean." The room spun uncontrollably, the air as hot as hellfire, and Alex reached out for the table to steady herself. The last remaining fragments of her grace were burning inside of her, scorching her organs, and she doubled over as she gasped for air through collapsing lungs. "I-I — I think —" The ground slid out from under her, and she collapsed into the impending darkness.