[Intro]
Ten-oh-four, the train's delayed,
My notebook's open, council's played
Its one card: "No comment," and gone —
The clock, of course, keeps rolling on.

[Verse]
The bus depot fence leans and cracks,
The tender file's an inch of facts.
The councillor's gone before I speak,
His assistant's out the door, quick and bleak.

I call the firm that won the bid —
"He's not in." I call the second, hid
Behind a different name, same line,
Same voice on the phone, every time.

[Chorus]
Can we get this online before lunch,
Before the facts are fully known?
I can write it fast, or write it right,
But noon won't wait for me alone.
Can we get this online before lunch?
Ask the source — then ask me when it's done.

[Verse]
Eleven-oh-seven, my phone lights up —
A clerk, retired, who's had enough.
"Three bids arrived the same courier day,
Filed under names that point one way."

[Editor] "Could we call it SECRET DEAL?"
[Maya] "Not yet."
[Editor] "Then — 'questions raised'? That's real."
[Maya] "Give me twenty minutes. Let the questions earn their name."

[Pre-Chorus]
The clock's ahead, the deadline's worse,
One fact confirmed beats one reversed.
Frank walks past with his mug in sight:
"Lunch," he says, "is not a legal right."

[Chorus]
Can we get this online before lunch,
Before the source has cracked the file?
I can write it fast, and write it right,
If panic learns to wait a while.
Can we get this online before lunch?
Yes — when I know the truth, and not before.

[Bass Interlude]

[Verse]
Eleven thirty-seven, the registry's clear —
Two directors share one surname here.
No smoking gun, no hidden vault,
Just public money, and the same three names at fault.

[Editor] "Could the headline sound more alarmed?"
[Frank] "It could — the moment urgency's confirmed."
I write down only what the record permits —
No guessing, no shouting, just where the money sits.

[Bridge]
Eleven fifty-eight. Publish. No siren, no alarm —
Just names and dates and numbers, calm.
No flashing caps, no bold red claim,
Just quiet proof behind the name.

[Final Chorus]
We got it online before lunch,
And every word can hold its ground.
We wrote it fast, and wrote it right —
The clock don't get to own what's found.
We got it online before lunch —
Twelve-oh-three. Close enough. Sue me.

[Outro]
I unwrap my sandwich. One bite in —
A message lands, thin and grinning:
"Great start. Quick follow-up needed —
Situation developing."