In the midst of the combat, Nadya had factored in Penny's disappearance from the battle. It was an unfortunate turn of events.
Nemesis immediately rolled into the ballroom, where he raised several shots from his assault rifle, where Nadya jumped out of the way, as Penny ran out through another door at the other end of the ballroom. It wasn't until Nemesis found himself pointing his gun directly at Nadya, who was pointing her gun directly at her line of sight at Wilson was when a standoff occured.
Both of them were willing to pull the trigger, however something was preventing them from doing so. Was it the fear that if one fires, the other will fire back? Or was it that they would both die as a result and both wanted to survive. Nadya wanted Nemesis dead, as he was the only thing that was tearing down the Violet Cloth Army, along with the fact that she is doing orders for Colemont. For Nemesis, he already recognized her from the massacre at his home. Whoever she killed, he didn't know, but she was practically the only thing that was standing in his way.
While keeping her shotgun perfectly aimed from her position of limited cover, Nadya considered Wilson's proposal. It was true, if they both shot and killed each other, it would serve no purpose.
She understood Wilson’s meaning. Amongst soldiers and mercs, “honor” was a code word for hand to hand combat, a true test in its purest of forms.
The boys have been trying to shoot him all day. Penny shot him in the head; he still stands. Maybe bullets don’t kill this thing. Perhaps it must be done up close.
Nadya was quite confident in her hand to hand combat abilities. Among her former circle of KGB defectors, mercs and assassins, she was among the best. Moscow drilled and tortured her body until it had become a lean, efficient, killing machine; she had developed a fighting style that emphasized speed and calculated brutal strikes.
However... it may not come to that...
“Very well,” she said. “We settle this hand to hand. No guns. Just YOU against ME. ... However... I ask for a sign of goodwill. You first. Stand behind the wall and throw your rifle across. Once I see this, I throw my gun down too. Then we step out... we fight hand to hand."
The Russian woman kept her shotgun aimed.
"From soldier to soldier," she said, her expression stone-cold, "I say we will both play by these rules."
Nadya maintained a stone cold expression; however, this was a disguise... a deception... even as she tried to appeal to Wilson's honour as a soldier.
Nadya had long ago abandoned honour in favour of a win-at-all-cost mentality. Even as she said these things... she had plan for how to strike a low blow and win.
As soon as Wilson stepped behind the wall and finished throwing the rifle out, Nadya planned to estimate Wilson's position and immediately (without any warning) empty the rest of her sawed-off shotgun into the wall (she knew she had 3 more shots left)... she calculated that given the limited thickness of the wall, the barrier wouldn’t completely stop her rounds. With the spread and firepower of the shells, she expect some further grazing if not an outright kill. Then she would toss down her used shotgun, take out her holstered pistol, rush in and turn, finishing off her opponent. With her training, this could all be done in seconds.
It was a dishonorable plan, but in her experience, this was the way of the world. And she intended to live.
But will he take this bait?
When Nemesis didn't immediately move, Nadya sensed there may be a degree of distrust.
"We can stand here all day or we can finish this," she said coldly. Then she added, in attempt to bait the fight "What is it you're afraid of? Are you afraid to face a woman in a fair fight? Afraid you'd lose? Throw down your gun and let's see how well you fight. Come."
The next few seconds would prove critical. In the worst case of scenarios where he declined, they would both have to shoot each other where they stood.
