A/: Sorry it's been so long. I blame lack of time and lack of inspiration. Sorry guys! And I think its a little lame, but I'm tired and I wanted to finish this chapter because it keeps looking at me and saying 'finish me, finish me!'

Disclaimer: See my profile.

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'Ninety Seconds'

Chapter Three

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Officer Montebello raced west along University Drive with his siren blaring and his lights flashing. He turned right onto Alma School Road hoping he could intercept the fugitive car before it got away. Seconds after he made his turn the red suspect vehicle went speeding by and raced through the intersection at Alma School and University just as the light was turning red. The car that had been trying to follow it hit their brakes and wisely stopped at the light. Montebello executed a wide U-turn and headed south along Alma School in pursuit of the red vehicle. He slowed down at the intersection to make sure traffic was stopping, and then proceeded through as he informed dispatch what he was doing and what direction he was headed in. As he passed through the intersection at Alma School and Main Street, a second patrol car fell in behind him to assist with the pursuit. Montebello could see the suspect vehicle only a few yards ahead just as a report on the vehicle's owner came through on his computer. The owner's name was Adella Rueben, 45; and she had three prior convictions for Driving under the Influence. In addition she was driving on a suspended license and had been twice previously charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Montebello suddenly realized stopping Ms. Rueben was even more imperative than he had thought when he had first gotten the call.

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"The police say Montebello and another officer are pursuing the suspect vehicle south along Alma School Road," Rossi said as Hotch drove toward Alma School and McKellips. "She has three prior DUI convictions, is driving on a suspended license, and has been charged twice with leaving the scene of an accident."

"Montebello is going to have a hard time getting someone like that to stop," Hotch responded.

As Hotch turned right on to Alma School Road two police cars whizzed by them at a high rate of speed heading toward the scene of the accident. "I guess we can just follow the police," Rossi commented.

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Reid was startled when the SUV dislodged and began moving again. He hung on to the window in an attempt to not fall into the water. He managed to maneuver himself back inside the car, grimacing in pain as he did so. He rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and tried to think. He had looked at the U.S.G.S. map of the area, therefore he should be able to remember how far this creek bed ran, he thought. However, he knew even the most detailed topographical map would not show every last detail; and could not possibly take every factor such as debris in the water into consideration. The water was moving so swiftly that knowing the area wouldn't be much of a help; if a vehicle ended up in the water the way his had it would be swept away too quickly.

Think, think… Should I try to get out of the vehicle again? If I do, what do I do after that? I can't expect to be able to swim to the side with the current as strong as it is. What should I do? My neck and my back are really hurting… I'm not sure if I can climb out of the vehicle again. Wait, where is my cell phone? Why haven't I tried to use it?

Reid grimaced as he turned his head to the right to grab his messenger bag. His cell phone was tucked into a pocket on the outside of the bag. No it wasn't. Where was his cell phone? He realized it was in his pocket and attempted to stick his right hand in and pull the phone out. No, the phone was not in his pocket either. Where was it? It took Reid a moment to remember the phone had been in his hand when the accident had first happened. He had pulled it out with the intention of reporting the driver of the other car as possibly impaired. He had no idea where it was now; for all he knew it had flown out the window and landed in the creek, or it could be somewhere in the vehicle. There was no way for him to know where his cell phone might have landed, and there was really no way he could look for it at this point in time.

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Since where they were going was only a few miles away Hotch and Rossi arrived at the scene in less than ten minutes. They could see the 911 caller and his vehicle off to the side of the road talking to a police officer. There was no sign of Reid's vehicle anywhere within their sight. Hotch pulled the SUV over to the side and Rossi called out to the officer, who excused himself and walked over to the two agents. "Hello, I'm SSA David Rossi, and this is SSA Aaron Hotchner."

"You're the agents from the BAU?" Rossi nodded. "Can I help you?"

"What happened to the vehicle that went into the water?"

The officer turned and pointed to the Northeast. "The creek bed widens where McKellips goes across it, so the bed is shallower and the water moves slower. Then it narrows and deepens again. When it gets to the Bottoms before the Country Club Drive bridge passes over it about a mile east of here, it widens significantly and is a lot shallower. The department figures that's the best place to try and get to the driver because the water will be moving slower. The vehicle was moving in that direction."

"Thank you officer," Rossi said as Hotch put the SUV in gear and pulled back on to the road.

"What's the next street north?" Hotch asked.

Rossi checked the GPS. "McDowell Road. Turn right, then right again when we get to Country Club Drive." Hotch quickly turned on to McDowell, and a couple minutes later as they approached Country Club they could see two police cars off to the right near the north bank of the creek bed. As they turned on to Country Club they could see several more police cars, an ambulance and two fire trucks on the south bank, which sloped gradually down to the creek bed. "Look!" Rossi exclaimed. Hotch craned his neck to try and see what Rossi was pointing at; but several onlookers had stopped on the bridge passing over the creek and were watching the scene below making it impossible for him to see from the driver's side of the vehicle. He shook his head, pulled the SUV off the road as soon as they were across the bridge, and drove up next to the police cruisers parked there.

An officer blocked their path as they attempted to park. "I'm sorry, you can't come down here. We have an incident in progress…"

"I am aware of that officer," Hotch interrupted. "My name is SSA Aaron Hotchner and this is SSA David Rossi. We believe the driver of that vehicle is one of our agents."

"You're the F.B.I. agents from the BAU?" Hotch nodded. "Okay then."

Rossi looked out toward the creek where they could see a black SUV sitting in the middle of the bed with the back end facing toward the east. "What's going on?" he asked.

"The water at this point is only a few inches deep, so the vehicle slowed down and is stuck on something. Normally we would try to get a safety line across to the other side and then pull ourselves and the firefighters along it out to the vehicle."

"What if you can't get the safety line across?" Hotch asked.

"Then we attach lines to the firefighters so they can't be swept away, and they go out to the vehicle. We've done that before."

"I'm sure you have," Rossi said. "We won't get in your way."

"Have you had any contact with the driver?" Hotch asked.

"No Agent Hotchner. We have called out to him using the bullhorns, but we haven't spoken to him directly, no."

"Thank you officer," Hotch said. Rossi and Hotch stood and watched as the officer went back to what he had been doing before their arrival.

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Vehicles pulled over to the curb on both sides of the street as Officer Montebello chased Adella Rueben south on Alma School Road. As they passed through the intersection at Main Street he could see the barriers at the railroad crossing just south of the intersection lowering slowly. If the suspect was able to get across the tracks before the train passed he might not be able to follow her, and she would get away. Luckily there were already several vehicles stopped at the crossing, so Rueben made a wide erratic right turn into the parking lot and slowed down briefly as if she were trying to figure out where to go next. A large grocery store, two fast food restaurants and several small businesses shared the parking lot, and it was full of vehicles and people walking to and from cars and businesses. Montebello used his loudspeaker to ask customers to move to the side as he followed the suspect into the parking lot. He then used it to suggest the suspect stop her car and exit the vehicle. She however decided not to cooperate and kept driving through the parking lot, somehow managing to not hit any vehicles or customers. Montebello breathed a sigh of relief when he saw they were now in an open area of the parking lot near an empty building that had once held a discount big box store. He once again used his loudspeaker to suggest the suspect stop her vehicle, and again she failed to cooperate. With no other cars in this section of the parking lot to worry about Montebello sped up slightly and bumped the back of her car; however she still refused to stop. Montebello sped up and bumped the car harder, and this time the driver turned to the right and sped up in an attempt to get out on to Main Street. He refused to let her get away from him this time, and this time bumped the right rear of the car. She drove straight into a collection bin for used clothing sitting in the parking lot and this time was forced to stop. Montebello stopped and suggested once more via his loudspeaker that she remain where she was. With two other officers pulling up behind him for backup, he exited his cruiser and approached the driver's side of the suspect vehicle with his gun drawn.

"Keep your hands where I can see them!" he commanded. "Place your hands on the steering wheel." He approached the driver and directed her to exit the vehicle. Instead of cooperating she tried to spray a can of pepper spray at him; which served to genuinely piss him off. He jerked the door open and pulled the suspect out of the vehicle and ordered her to lie on the ground. He then placed her in handcuffs and read her rights to her.

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Rossi and Hotch watched as two firefighters with safety lines attached to their belts made their way slowly out to the SUV. Hotch's cell phone rang. "Hotch… No Morgan, they're on their way out to the car now. … We don't know yet. … They caught her? … Thank you, we'll let you know the minute we have any news. … Morgan you do not need to come down here. I will call you." Hotch hung up the phone and sighed.

"I take it that was Morgan," Rossi said.

"Yes. He wanted to come down here because he is worried about Reid; but I told him not to. They stopped the suspect. Montebello and two other officers were able to get her to stop. She tried to spray Montebello with pepper spray."

"That will add assault on a police officer to her charges," Rossi suggested. Hotch sighed and the two men went back to watching the events taking place out in the middle of the creek.

Reid sat in the front seat of the SUV watching the two firefighters approaching. He had no idea what the SUV had gotten stuck on that caused it to stop, but he was certainly glad he was no longer moving. While still moving fairly quickly with a good current, the water was only a few inches deep; and even though he knew a vehicle could be swept away by as little as six inches of water, he figured it was unlikely it would happen at this point. His neck and back were so sore he could barely move.

"Hi, how are you doing in there?"

"I've had better days," Reid answered.

"I imagine you have. My name is Jack, by the way. This is Marvin. What's your name?"

"Spencer Reid."

"Are you in any pain, Spencer?"

"My neck and my back both hurt."

"Bad?"

Reid gave a short nod. "Pretty bad and getting worse."

Marvin spoke into his radio. "Victim's name is Spencer Reid. The air bags have deployed. Neck and back pain, we need a neck brace and a back board."

Rossi and Hotch continued to watch as four additional firefighters attached lines to themselves and headed out into the water carrying a spine board, a neck brace and a head immobilizer. "That doesn't look good," Rossi stated.

"I'm sure it's just a precaution," Hotch answered. Rossi looked at him, and could immediately see Hotch wasn't at all sure it was just a precaution.

"Okay Spencer," Jack said. "I'm going to open the door, and we're going to get you out of there. Is your seat belt still fastened?"

"No, I took it off when I tried to get out earlier."

"Okay, we're going to put this neck brace on you and then ease you out on to the board." Reid nodded.

Hotch and Rossi continued to watch the scene unfold. Marvin climbed into the SUV from the passenger side as Jack opened the door on the driver's side and pushed the seat back a little more. They carefully placed the neck brace around Reid's neck and then slid the spine board inside the SUV under him. Reid turned sideways and Marvin carefully helped lift his feet and legs up on to the board; and then Jack and another firefighter carefully helped him to lay down on it. Marvin fastened the straps over his body, and then the others carefully pulled the board out the driver's side, taking care to jostle Reid as little as possible. Marvin came back around to the driver's side, and the six firefighters lined up three on each side of the board. They carefully slid the board the rest of the way off the seat and then carried Reid back to the bank and the waiting ambulance.

"I certainly have nothing but good things to say about the Mesa Police Department and the Mesa Fire Department at this point in time," Rossi said as the two men watched Reid being put on to a gurney. "I don't believe this! He's still holding on to his damn bag!" he exclaimed.

"You know he's never without it," Hotch responded as the two men walked toward the ambulance. "Reid, we're here," he called out.

"Hotch?" Reid said.

"Yes it's me."

"Good."

"May I ride with him?" Hotch asked the ambulance driver. The driver nodded and Hotch handed Rossi the keys to the SUV. "What hospital are we going to?"

"Scottsdale Osborn. It's the closest trauma center."

"I'll call the rest of the team and we'll meet you there," Rossi said. "What's wrong with him?" Rossi he asked Jack as Hotch climbed into the ambulance with Reid.

"He has severe neck and back pain. My guess is severe whiplash, and there's always the possibility of internal injuries."

"Thank you, you all did an amazing job."

"Just doing my job," Jack said, but Rossi noticed the faintest hint of a smile on his lips.

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Interesting fact: The area I described as the 'bottoms' in this story where Reid was rescued from is sometimes used as a campsite by homeless people in the area. After 9/11 a sign one of them put up was spotted and ended up on the local news. It read 'I'm not homeless. I live in America.'