54 Ivy's disguise
"Ah. Ah. Pain. Pain." Ivy fainted right in front of the reception of the Good City Clinic. The clinic was not as small as a clinic would normally be, but it was not as big as a hospital too. Based on one's judgment, it could be called more of a hospital than a small clinic.
Ivy had dressed up as a poor, old woman. Her shirt was a little worn out at the sides, while her skirt looked like it belonged to her grandmother's grandmother.
The people near the clinic immediately surrounded her and one of them called the nurse. The nurse looked at the old woman. Her wrinkled face was pale and she was clutching her stomach. She was skeptical to bring her inside the hospital to treat her. The woman looked too poor to be able to pay the medical bills. Yet the next moment, she called the attendee to get the stretcher. There were many people around. If the old woman was not given immediate treatment, then that would have a bad impact on the hospital.
The nurse led the woman on the stretcher to one of the small rooms. It was too small to be called a ward. She left the ward after shifting the old lady on to the bed and returned with a doctor after ten minutes.
"Doctor, this is the woman I was talking about."
"What the hell! have you lost your freaking mind? This old hag looks very poor. Do you think she would be able to pay the medical expenses?" The doctor bellowed, without even caring that his loud voice could wake up the unconscious woman.
"But, Doctor. Many people saw her faint. So, I couldn't help but get her inside." The nurse defended herself meekly.
They did not know that their conversation had been heard by the woman in question. Although the woman had fainted, she was acting it all; she was only pretending to be asleep. If Aria had seen Ivy like this, she would have applauded her for her brilliant acting.
Ivy stayed still and listened to the doctor-nurse duo. She had recorded all that had happened in the ward using a button camera on her shirt.
'Hmm. It's time for the superstar to enter. Let the drama begin.' Ivy thought and stirred, successfully gaining the attention of the nurse and the doctor.
"Doctor, the woman is waking up." The nurse spoke, seeing her move.
Ivy squinted her eyes and then she turned to look at the two people in front of her.
"Doctor, what is wrong with me? Why does it pain so bad in my stomach?" She placed her hand on her abdomen and groaned lightly.
"Where does it pain?" Looking at the old woman clutching her abdomen, he got an idea he could execute. So, he thought about it and decided to treat the woman.
"Here, in my stomach."
The doctor pressed on her abdomen lightly, making Ivy gasp. "Ahh."
"We need to run some tests on you. Only then I can tell what the problem is." The doctor then looked at the nurse and gave her a set of tests to be performed on the woman.
"Get a blood test and a urine test. Also, get an ultrasound."
The nurse nodded and helped the woman to get the ultrasound first. After the procedure for the ultrasound was complete, she took her blood and urine samples.
Ivy knew that the clinic did not have any high-end devices like the ones in the big hospitals that could determine her age from her blood. So, she readily obliged for the tests. She was then brought back to the waiting area at the reception and was asked to wait.
"How long does it take for the results to be out?" Ivy asked the nurse.
"About two hours."
"Then can I come after two hours. Although I have had my breakfast, I am a little hungry."
"Okay. But pay for the tests first." The nurse assumed that the old woman would run away without paying them. So, she asked her to pay before leaving the hospital.
"How much do I have to pay?" She asked with reluctance.
"300 dollars."
"What? 300 dollars for all those tests." Ivy asked baffled. Although it was not as expensive as the huge and high tech hospitals, it was quite too much for a puny clinic like the Good City Clinic to charge its patients.
"Yes. You must pay for it." The nurse was irritated. But she had to get the money from the woman.
"I have only 150 dollars. It's the money given to me by my son for my monthly expenses." Ivy held the money she had in front of the nurse.
The nurse snatched the money from her hand and looked coldly at her. "Hmm. Okay. Pay the remaining money after you come back."
"I don't think I'll be able to pay any more," Ivy said sadly. Grievance was oozing through her entire body.
"What do you mean?"
"I have no more money left with me until my son lends me some."
"It's okay. Come back after two hours. Let's see what we can do."
"Thank you. Thank you so much. You are so kind." The old woman held the nurse's hands in gratitude.
The nurse smiled and walked away.
Ivy waited for the nurse to be out of sight and then got up slowly. She then walked towards her left and entered the ladies washroom.
Inside the washroom, she removed her shirt and skirt. She was wearing a tank top and jeans beneath. She then took off her wig and washed her face. She pulled out the waterproof bag she had hidden under the sink and took out a dark green shirt and wore it, making sure that the button camera was intact. She stuffed the costume she had previously worn inside the bag and casually walked out of the loo.
If anybody was told that the old woman who had entered the washroom before and the young lady who had left just now, were actually the same person, then they would have laughed at the absurdity. There was no trace of her being the old woman. She was back to being Ivy.
Ivy went towards the reception. When nobody was looking, she slipped past the area and started searching for the nurse or the doctor who had looked at her before. She found the nurse at one of the wards. She was giving a sponge bath to an old man. But she could not find the doctor anywhere. She searched again everywhere until she came across a door at the farthest end of the hospital. There was a sign on it: Restricted.
Ivy tried the knob and much to her surprise, it opened at once. She stepped in carefully. She was not sure who was inside and she did not want to risk being exposed. She closed the door behind her and took careful steps when she heard some people talking. She walked until she could clearly see who they were. It was the doctor she was searching for and another person she did not know. She hid behind curtains and focused her camera on them.
"Doctor, this patient had come in just a few hours back. She had pain in her abdomen. The test reports are normal. I think it's just a gastric problem, nothing major. Take a look." He handed the test reports to the unknown man. He took a thorough look at the reports.
"Hmm. You say this woman is old and poor. I see that her organs are working fine. Make it a case of appendicitis."
"You mean, Sir?"
"Yes. We will operate on her saying it is to cure her appendicitis when in fact we will be removing one her kidneys."
Ivy was shocked. She already knew that this hospital had scoundrels. Yet, listening to them directly made her horrified. Now, she had the evidence. So, her work was done. She retraced her steps back to the washroom and changed into her disguise of the old woman. She went outside and had a sandwich in the small canteen in front of the hospital.
When she saw that it was time for her head back, she went to the waiting area and sat down patiently. After a few minutes of waiting, she saw the nurse heading towards her.
"The doctor wants to see you." The nurse led her to the doctor's cabin.
Ivy followed her patiently. She only needed the last part to complete her evidence. Then she would expose to the entire world about the hooligans.
"Sit down." The doctor said frowning.
Ivy complied and she started her acting. '3,2,1. Action.'
"Doctor, is everything alright?" She asked with a tone of worry.
"Hmm. There is nothing serious. It is just a case of appendicitis."
"Ohh."
"But we have to perform an operation as early as possible."
"Operation?"
"Yes. It is necessary. You must get it done."
"How soon?"
"The sooner the better. Preferably today."
"The cost of the operation would be quite high right? I don't have any money with me." Ivy shed a tear.
"Don't worry about it. Every month, we perform free surgeries on five people who cannot pay the medical expenses. This month you can be one amongst them."
"Really? Is it possible Doctor?" The doctor smiled looking at the elated woman.
'What a foolish hag.' He mocked in his mind.
"Yes."
"Then I am ready."
"Okay. If you have no problems, we will schedule your operation today at 11 p.m."
"Why at night?"
"As I told you, we have to operate as early as possible. The doctor who is going to operate on you has fixed the time slot at night. He has another operation before that. Why, do you have a problem?" The doctor raised his eyebrows. He lied to her straight on her face. Such operations were performed at night when the visiting hours would be over and nobody would find out about their crimes.
"No. No. I have no problems."
"So, what are we waiting for then?"
"Hmm. Doctor, I will make a call to my son first. I need to inform him about my condition."
"Okay. But come back fast. We need to get your body ready for the operation."
Ivy nodded and vacated his room. She then left the hospital unhurriedly. She had all the time in the world as she was ready, not for the operation. But to bring about their destruction.
