Anxiety
As he approached the house, it appeared to be deserted and peaceful. Mrs. Jordan answered the door when he knocked and gave him the package. He didn't immediately notice it.
However, when he was loading the package, he saw something on the side of the box. The handwritten words there, on the side, sent a sickening feeling of anxiety sweeping over him.
Good At What He Does
Charles Gordon, a former navy officer, immediately saw something was up. In all his years of training, he had developed a tremendous detail-oriented eye that allowed him to detect the more subtle features that most men would overlook.
On that particular day, though, he would have to deal with a challenge that would push him to the brink. Few guys would have been able to respond with the dedication and knowledge he showed right away.
Difficult Times
Gordon had been sent to Afghanistan in the midst of the most challenging part of the fight. He had witnessed events that had permanently altered his perspective on life.
He had witnessed the deaths of some of his friends, while others had returned home changed forever. As far as Gordon was aware, nearly half of his fellow service members were currently dealing with PTSD.
A Change Of Pace
He was one of the fortunate few who had returned home without suffering any severe setbacks or stress. But whenever the subject came up, his expression seemed to get gloomier.
He was a UPS driver now, 55 years old, and he liked his job and the easygoing pace of delivering deliveries while driving from house to house. It was very different from his time in the Navy. He had no idea that everything was about to change.
Happy Clients
In Missouri, Charles had established a solid reputation. He traveled all around the country for work and met many people. He took great delight in developing a close bond with each recipient of his parcels; both parties were familiar with one another's names.
But there was something about Charles that his clients were unaware of—until a crucial day when the truth would come to light.
Their Protector
Missouri citizens were unaware that the UPS driver possessed the knowledge and abilities to protect them from any danger or threat, even if it meant risking his own life if necessary.
Before it was almost too late, they were unaware of how fortunate they were that the former U.S. Navy seal was watching out for them.
Something Different
Charles had no idea what he was getting himself into when he was asked to pick up a box from a house in Franklin County. He was familiar with both the household and the occupants.
Mr. and Mrs. Jordan appeared to be an ordinary couple at first glance. Only one time did he find their actions to be a little... peculiar.
An Odd Delivery
After the unsettling encounter, he immediately recalled another time when he had recently delivered a box to the Jordans' home.
He recalled getting out of his truck, approaching their door, and knocking while holding the box. He was immediately drawn to and intrigued by the package due to some characteristics of it.
No Name
The sender's name and address were not on the package, making it anonymous. The majority of the packages they handle are picked up from the sender's home and demand a return address; hence UPS often does not permit anonymous delivery.
If you don't want the recipient or UPS to know who shipped the box in issue, you can travel between states and leave the desired shipment at a UPS depot. Who would do that, though?
What Was In The Package?
The package was also oddly bulky. In general, Charles didn't give what was in people's packages much thought, but this time the contents appeared too strange.
He rattled the package in his hands in an effort to determine what was inside. He could sense the presence of something substantial and small inside, but he was unable to identify it. The door to the Jordans' home then unlocked.
Mr. Jordan
A man opened the door; it was Mr. Jordan. Immediately, Charles tried to keep his composure, hiding the fact that he had been trying to guess the content of the package. That had been quite unprofessional of him.
He handed the package to Mr. Jordan. The man looked at both sides of the street before taking the package like he didn’t want to be seen. Then, he rapidly grabbed it with both hands and disappeared behind the closed door.
Puzzling
Now, what was that about? The whole episode made Charles feel like there had to be something fishy about that package. But what could it be?
Well, it was done. He just hoped he wouldn’t get into trouble. After some weeks, he completely forgot about that incident, but he remembered again as soon as he saw he had to deliver another package to the Jordans’ house.
A Quiet Morning
It had started out as a quiet, cold morning for Charles. He hummed as he plotted his route and wound his way through Franklin County, picking up and delivering the parcels he had been assigned.
When he reached the Jordan residence, he pulled up into the drive like he always did and walked up the front steps. He had no idea that he was walking into a living nightmare.
Waiting
Charles knocked on the door three times and waited the cursory five minutes before knocking again. Stomping his feet to keep warm, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Mr. Jordan’s pickup truck in the parking bay.
But he got no response. He didn’t hear a peep from inside the house either. What could be going on?
Silence
“Hello?” he yelled, “UPS.” Perhaps nobody was home after all. He scanned the porch for the parcel he was meant to be picking up. No package. Maybe they had called him by mistake?
But Charles was starting to feel uneasy. He could tell that something was very wrong. He was just about to turn and leave when he heard the front door unlatch.
Something Off
The door opened a crack, and an eye appeared. “Mrs. Jordan? I’m here to collect a package,” Charles explained. The door widened, and she stood there, smiling tightly. Then, Mr. Jordan stepped out from behind his wife and greeted Charles tersely.
He held his wife close and ordered her to give the UPS driver the package. But as she did, something in her eyes told Charles that something just wasn’t right.
Trying To Tell Him Something
In the brief moment when Mrs. Jordan handed him the package, she mouthed something to him, but he couldn’t quite catch it.
She looked nervously at her husband to make sure he hadn’t seen her, and then her eyes widened. She was trying to tell him something. But why couldn’t she say it in front of her husband?
The Clues
Charles took in her appearance as best he could before the door was hurriedly slammed shut again. All the clues were there. Her hair was disheveled, and she had dark rings under her tired eyes.
And her eyes... they were pleading with him to do something. She looked like a frightened animal. And the way that Mr. Jordan had held her close... There was just something he didn’t like about it.
Brushing It Off
He was concerned at first but tried to shrug the feeling of worry off. Maybe he was being paranoid. After all, what his clients did behind closed doors wasn’t any of his business.
Maybe the couple had had an argument. That must be it, he reasoned, before walking back to his truck. But when he put the parcel in the back, he saw what she had been trying to tell him all along.
The Message
“Call 911” was scrawled on the side of the box, on the side that she had carefully kept facing away from her husband as she handed it to him. His heart began to race, and a metallic taste crept up his throat.
He glanced back at the house and saw Mr. Jordan watching him coldly from the window. He instinctively knew that he had to act like nothing was wrong – or it would all be over.
Pretending It Was Alright
Charles climbed into his seat slowly and deliberately as if he was in no hurry to get away from that place. He felt Mr. Jordan’s eyes burning a hole in his back as he rolled away.
It took all his self-control to resist the urge to speed out the driveway. But when he rounded the corner and out of sight, he pulled out his phone and slammed the numbers in.
What’s Your Emergency?
He heard the reassuring voice on the other end of the line: “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”. Then, he explained everything to the operator... the parcel, Mr. Jordan’s behavior, and Mrs. Jordan’s frightened eyes.
The operator listened intently before sending out the sheriff’s deputies. But they had no idea what was really happening in that house. Nothing could have ever prepared them for it.
Mobilizing
The team prepared for every eventuality. They weren’t sure if they were dealing with a robbery or much worse. From the information Charles had given them, they assumed the couple were being held hostage.
But they were all so very wrong. Like a well-oiled machine, they mobilized and raced to the scene. Everyone knew that time was of the essence.
Swarming The House
In less than 10 minutes, authorities were swarming the house on Willow Ford Road. Franklin County Sheriff’s Sgt. T.J. Wild led the operation. They stormed up the front steps and called.
Mr. Jordan seemed like he had been taken by surprise. Now, the truth was about to come out. And it was far more unnerving than what anyone could have expected.
He Slammed The Door
But he refused to cooperate with the authorities, slamming the door in their faces. He didn’t know that this was the worst mistake he could have made. Now, it was on for real.
Now that they knew that what was going on had everything to do with Mr. Jordan, they weren’t about to take it lying down.
Calling Backup
Sheriff’s Sgt. T.J. Wild checked Mr. Jordan’s records and discovered that he had been arrested before. They also feared that he had a weapon inside the house.
Realizing that the situation may have escalated beyond their control, they decided to call backup. They weren’t going to take any risks, so they brought out the big guns. They called for the SWAT team.
Surrender
Mr. Jordan quickly realized that his best option was to surrender, which, thankfully for him, he did before the SWAT team arrived. Mrs. Jordan and her 3-year-old son were taken to a place of safety.
But it was only when officers took Mrs. Jordan’s statement that the truth about what had happened in that house came out.
Hailed A Hero
And thanks to Charles, Mrs. Jordan was released from a harrowing situation. “We are grateful this UPS driver with more than a decade of service followed protocol when he saw a customer in distress and contacted authorities after he saw her message to contact 9-1-1,” the company said in a statement.
“Our drivers are very familiar with their routes and are trained to be aware of their surroundings and respond to requests for assistance.”
The Plan That Worked
According to Mrs. Jordan, her husband had snapped. He held her captive for 15 hours in the home they shared. When she tried to leave, he refused to let her.
He threatened her, and she had reason to believe that her life was in danger. So she did the only thing she could think of – she wrote a note on the parcel for the UPS driver.
Saved The Day
James Jordan was promptly arrested and charged. He was held in Franklin County jail with bail set at $100,000.
"The charges stemmed from actions that occurred in the home with the female victim prior to the arrival of the delivery service who noticed a message for help written on a package he was to pick up," Franklin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. If it weren’t for the quick-thinking UPS driver, the situation might have been a lot worse. In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.