Chapter 8 - BRIDGING THE GENERATIONS
Ben felt a profound, overwhelming warmth wash over his chest. He looked back down at the 1978 photograph of Jimmy, then at the bright cherry-red cruiser shell surrounding his own power wheelchair.
"He led the parade?" Ben asked, his brown eyes shining with respect.
"He led the whole town," the Elderly Biker confirmed, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "The bikers back then made him an honorary road captain. He carried a tiny silver raven pin on his collar everywhere he went."
Duke’s hand instantly froze on the old man's shoulder.
Duke reached down to his own heavy leather vest, touching the small, tarnished silver pin attached to his inner lapel—a vintage Iron Ravens founder badge that he had inherited when he joined the club thirty years ago.
"The founder's pin..." Duke murmured in disbelief. "Your family gave that pin to the club treasury in seventy-nine to fund the youth community drive."
The Elderly Biker looked at Duke's vest and gasped softly, recognizing the tiny silver raven pin. "You... you still carry it?"
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"Every single day," Duke said, his gravelly voice filled with deep, solemn reverence. "It stands for protecting our own. It seems your brother's legacy has been guarding this road all along."
Ben looked between the two older bikers, realizing that his simple desire to participate in a parade had unlocked a fifty-year-old bridge of brotherhood, memory, and healing.
