luckily , when the armed group beat upon our door , my mother had n't left for work yet . we are helpless : too few , too scattered , too hated by one and all . i never finished that hawkins book , a brief history of time . nick looked back at him , one eyebrow raised , expecting another joke . he even looked back and said , `` you do n't have the guts and you know it . '' he knew hed gotten back at them in the only way that made a difference to them . 